My Son the Wizard
by savya398
Summary: After his first year at Hogwarts Harry discovers a startling truth that throws him into an entirely new world. He finds a new family and a new home that drastically change his life for the better, if not crazier. After all when you're the son of Tony Stark, the one and only Iron Man, life is bound to be interesting.
1. The Unexpected Trip

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Harry Potter. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 1: The Unexpected Trip**

Harry Potter was less than enthused to be going home for the summer, which was strange because he had been away at a boarding school for nearly ten months. Many students were excited to be returning to their homes to see their families and get away from schoolwork. But Harry was not one of them. To him he wasn't really going home. No, to him he was leaving the only place he had ever really thought of as his home.

He had just completed his very first year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. That's right, Harry Potter was a wizard. No one had been more surprised by this turn of events then Harry himself. But he had jumped right in to his new world. It was exciting, full of adventure and new things. The wizarding world had been full of people who cared about him and he had gained several close friends. He had seen a three-headed dog, centaurs, trolls and he had even faced down the Dark wizard who had murdered his parents leaving him to rot with his horrible relatives.

Harry was almost certain that that had been the best part, his discovery that his parents weren't the wastrels that his aunt and uncle had always told him they were. It was almost a relief to Harry to hear that they had in fact died fighting to protect him from an evil maniac rather than in a drunken car crash. Unfortunately this new information came with the fact that Harry was famous because he had survived the attack from the Dark Lord Voldemort. At just barely over a year old Harry had survived the dreaded Killing Curse something no one else in history had and defeated the greatest dark wizard of all time. Or at least that's what people had told him. Harry was just glad that his dreams about laughter and green flashing lights were actually true and didn't mean that he was crazy for having the reoccurring nightmare.

Harry had excelled and thrived at Hogwarts. Before he hadn't had that chance because he had been bullied and discriminated against by his relatives. His aunt and uncle told the teachers and neighbors that he was a delinquent and disturbed, which caused them to treat Harry with disdain. His cousin Dudley bullied him mercilessly and made sure that the other children joined in or at the very least he chased away any other child that tried to be his friend. When Harry had gotten top marks his first year in primary school his uncle and aunt had screeched at him saying that he had used his freakishness to get better marks than Dudley so that he could show off. They demanded that he never get higher marks ever again or else face the consequences and Harry really didn't want to contemplate what those consequences would be.

It hadn't stopped Harry from learning of course but he did make sure to do poorly on all his schoolwork. Instead Harry had just spent all his free time in the school library and when those books became too easy he started visiting the free library whenever the Dursleys left him alone and he had some free time from his chores. He had loved to learn. He found that he could grasp concepts that even some of his teachers had difficulty understanding. He was especially interested in the various sciences and engineering. Before Hogwarts it had been his greatest wish to try building his own robot. Unfortunately he didn't have access to any tools or spare parts. But at Hogwarts things had been different. Sure he still hadn't had access to the mechanical parts he needed but he had been opened up to a whole new type of science: magic.

It was a completely new subject for him to learn and he had been so excited. He'd snuck all of his school books into his room before going to Hogwarts and had read them all wishing that he had thought to buy more than just the standard books on the list. In fact his desire to learn almost had the Sorting Hat placing him in Ravenclaw but the Hat reasoned that he was more suited to Gryffindor in the end because he wanted to use his knowledge for his own amusement. He wasn't a complete bookworm and he didn't actually like to read it was just that it was normally the only way to gather the information that he wanted to learn. He was much more of a hands on person and preferred learning by doing and experimenting for himself. He was also fairly reckless and brave, which is how he had gotten himself into such instances as fighting off a mountain troll and going up against Voldemort. So in the end Gryffindor was the best choice for him.

His love for learning found him a steadfast study partner and close friend at school. A girl by the name of Hermione Granger. She was the first person Harry had ever met whom he could talk about his love for advanced mechanical engineering and have them understand what he was actually talking about. Luckily for him she was a muggleborn student and had a good grasp of both muggle science and magical theory. Together the two of them had spent hours in the library. His other close friend that he had acquired was Ron Weasley, a wizard who oddly enough hated doing work or reading of any kind making him an odd addition to the friendship between Hermione and Harry. But his love for adventure and knack for getting into trouble rivaled Harry's own and thus the friendship was solid. Besides Harry liked goofing off every once in a while, unlike Hermione, so Ron made the perfect escape.

The only real sour point at Hogwarts had been his Potions Professor, Severus Snape. For some reason the man hated Harry with every fiber of his being no matter how well Harry did in his class, it only seemed to make him hate Harry more. Harry had been looking forward to potions because it reminded him a lot of muggle chemistry. He had read his potions textbook over the summer and found it fascinating that many of the magical ingredients could have such incredible reactions. They even had to be stirred in the correct direction to get the magical properties to work properly in the potion. But Snape had soon crushed those dreams when in the very first class he had called Harry out. First by calling Harry a celebrity and second by asking him difficult questions. Luckily Harry had read ahead and he had a pretty good memory, it was the only way he had been able to answer the questions Snape had asked him. Instead of pleasing the professor with his knowledge however, it only seemed to make him angrier. He seemed to think that Harry was an arrogant showoff and nothing Harry did could change his opinion of him. The rest of the year had not gone much better with him looking to deduct points and give detentions as often as possible.

The only other sour point about Hogwarts had been his encounter with the Dark Lord who had murdered his parents. He had been possessing the body of Harry's Defense Against the Dark Art's Professor so that he could try and steal the Philosopher's Stone hidden in the school. With the stone he would have been able to return to full power but Harry, along with his two best friends, had been able to stop him. They had gone through all of the traps protecting the stone but in the end Harry had had to face Voldemort all on his own. He'd been terrified but in the end he had prevailed. Even when Voldemort was trying to manipulate him into joining him so that Harry would give him the stone.

He praised Harry telling him how smart he was, how he could help Harry become even greater, and that he would give Harry a place of power when he finally took over Europe. But he had seen Voldemort for what he truly was and in the end he had been defeated. Headmaster Dumbledore said that he was not gone for good and that eventually he would be back. Harry knew that he would have to be prepared for that moment and decided to dedicate himself during the next school to training and learning as much as he could. He hadn't liked feeling at such a disadvantage to Voldemort. He knew he needed to come up with ideas that a normal wizard wouldn't think of so that he could gain the upper hand against Voldemort.

Despite Snape and Voldemort, Harry was still going to miss Hogwarts fiercely. The next couple of months at the Dursleys were sure to drag on and on. He'd be stuck doing chores, being chased by his cousin and his gang and receiving meager meals. Worst of all he wouldn't be allowed to do magic and there were so many different experiments that he wanted to try to see just how magic reacted with muggle technology. Everyone said it didn't but Harry was determined to learn just why that was. He had wanted to stay at Hogwarts but according to Headmaster Dumbledore that was out of the question because of the wards of protection he got from staying with his only living blood relatives. He only wished that he had another place that he could go or other relatives that would be able to take him in.

Harry waved goodbye to his friends and watched enviously as Ron was swallowed by a sea of warm and friendly redheads and as Hermione was toted away by her parents each of them eagerly asking all about her year. Harry despondently pushed his cart through Charring Cross Station searching for his relatives. He finally found them waiting by the car. His uncle, Vernon Dursley, a large, beefy man with no neck and a walrus mustache stood with his arms crossed impatiently as he checked his watch. His aunt, Petunia Dursley, a thin woman with a long neck, and a horse face stood beside him. His cousin Dudley Dursley, a massive whale of a boy with blonde hair and little piggy eyes was in the car playing a handheld videogame. He looked even larger than he had last year, which was really quite the accomplishment in Harry's opinion.

"Move it boy we don't have all day. We're already late," Vernon snapped the moment Harry came into view.

Harry obediently scampered over as quickly as he could. None of the Dursleys offered him any greetings and Harry gave none in return. Vernon didn't bother to help Harry with his trunk; he only unlatched the boot and watched while Harry struggled to get it inside. There were other bags and suitcases in the boot, which made his job twice as hard. He wondered why there were suitcases but he figured the Dursleys must have just come back from a trip or something. Once he finally succeeded in getting his trunk in the boot Harry crawled into the backseat of the car, clutching his owl's cage with his snowy white owl Hedwig inside. The Dursleys all scowled at the owl cage and at Harry but seeing as how they couldn't do anything about either one of them they just ignored their existence. Dudley looked a little nervous about being in such close quarters with Harry. He was no doubt still traumatized by Hagrid giving him a pig's tail last summer. The memory made Harry's lips twitch with a suppressed smile.

Harry sat back in the car and passed the time by going over everything that he had seen and done while at Hogwarts. He was in the middle of his first Quidditch match against Slytherin when he happened to look out the window and realized that they weren't heading in the right direction.

"Uncle Vernon, this isn't the way back to Privet Drive," Harry pointed out.

"Shut up, boy. I don't need you to tell me where I'm going," Vernon snarled.

Harry looked at his aunt in confusion but the only reaction from her that he could see was an expression of smug satisfaction. The farther they drove in the opposite direction from Privet Drive the more nervous Harry became. He didn't know where they were going or what was going on. Maybe the Dursleys had moved and they were going to their new house? It was the only explanation that Harry could come up with.

When they pulled into an airport, however, this idea was quickly discarded. They couldn't be going on vacation could they? No they would never take Harry with them on a vacation. The Dursleys absolutely hated spending money on Harry would do anything that they possibly could to avoid doing such. They would have dropped him off at Mrs. Figgs, unless she was unable to watch him for some reason. Still he was fairly certain that they would have arranged their trip to make sure that Mrs. Figgs was available before booking the tickets.

The Dursleys all ignored his questioning as they got their luggage from the boot. Dudley looked like he would have answered him, his face gloating and full of vindictive glee. He was stopped by Petunia who still looked more calm and smug than Harry had ever seen her while he had been in her presence. It made Harry's stomach churn with nausea to think about what had put her in such a good mood and what had given Dudley such a gloating expression. What were they planning on doing to him because in reality making Harry suffer was the only thing that could have put all the Dursleys in such a good mood while Harry was still in the presence.

Vernon finally snapped and told Harry to keep him mouth shut. Harry complied because Vernon's had started to take on that purplish hue that it always turned when he was getting really irritated. All through the airport check in Harry's thoughts swirled in confusion. He nearly had a breakdown when he was told that Hedwig would have to ride in the bottom of the plane. Seeing how close he was to the breakdown the nice airport baggage lady said she'd make sure that Hedwig was in a safe place and well taken care of. It gave him some measure of peace. But it was only a small amount he was still extremely anxious about what was to come. He'd never been on a plane before and now they would be traveling such a long distance. He'd learned by checking the flight schedule that the plane they were going on was taking them to the States, New York to be exact. He just didn't know why they were going.

"Dudley why are we going to New York?" Harry asked desperately when Vernon and Petunia had gone to buy the family some extra snacks while they were waiting to board the plane.

"Dad said we're dropping you off with you're dad and then we're going on vacation around New York City," said Dudley with a bored expression. He was apparently too invested in his videogame at the moment to bring up the same level of gloating he had had earlier or to remember that he wasn't supposed to be telling Harry these things.

"My dad? But my dad died," replied Harry feeling utterly confused. This was the last thing Harry thought he would say. It didn't even make sense.

"He didn't. I overheard mum and dad talking about it. Mum found some old journal of your mum's while she was looking through a box of stuff from her mum and dad. It said she had an affair with some other guy and that he's your real dad. Guess mum was right huh? You're mum really was a strumpet," Dudley finally looked up from his game to leer at Harry at the last comment.

"That's not true," said Harry furiously. But his mouth was suddenly dry and it didn't sound nearly as fierce as he had meant it too.

"Well that's what mum and dad said and that's why we're going on the trip, to give you to your dad. Apparently he's loaded and we're going to get money for you. I'll bet dad will even buy me that new Play Station," said Dudley dreamily.

Harry barely heard him; his thoughts were chaotic as he tried to make sense of what was happening. It couldn't be true! Everyone he had met at Hogwarts had commented on how much he looked like his dad. Harry had even seen photos of his dad and yeah maybe James Potter's hair was a true black while Harry's was more of a dark brown but his mum did have some influence in his genetics. His dad wore glasses and Harry didn't but again he could have gotten the good eyesight from his mum. Their noses were kind of similar and Harry's hair was messy, not quite as bad as his dad's but again Harry's had more of curl to it like his mum's. No the Dursleys had it wrong James Potter was his dad. They were just going to be disappointed when whoever this man was turned out not to be Harry's father and they had made this trip for nothing.

But a part of Harry, a traitorous part, whispered about how great it would be if this man really was his father. Harry shoved the thought away. For him to really be Harry's father it would mean that Harry's mum would have had to cheat and from everything that people had told Harry, his mum had been a kind and sweet person. He knew that she couldn't have done it. Unless she wasn't as kind and sweet as people had led him to believe, which would be a disappointment all of its own. In his mind he had built her up to be almost saintly for her sacrificing her life for his and to learn something negative about her would shatter that image. The Dursleys had to have it wrong. The journal must have been old and her relationship with this unknown man must have been from before his mum had married his dad. But the way that Dudley had worded it made it sound like the journal had explicitly stated that this man was Harry's real dad.

No it couldn't be true. This was Harry's mantra as they boarded the plane and took their seats. His seat being as far from the Dursleys as possible, which Harry was more than okay with. He had no desire to be anywhere near them at the moment. They were planning some horrible scheme to try and pawn Harry off in exchange for money. That's all this was. It wouldn't really matter in the end. They would be angry that their plan hadn't worked out and they would head home empty handed with Harry in tow. At the very least Harry would get the chance to go out of the country for the very first time in his life.

The plane took off and Harry's stomach dropped. He found that flying wasn't as enjoyable in a plane as it was on his broom. He much preferred being the one in control of flying and he missed the feeling of the wind on his face. There were too many people crammed close together on the plane and when they hit air turbulence it jarred the entire plane in a very uncomfortable manner. At least the flight had a movie. He'd never been able to watch the television at the Dursleys or been to the cinema.

The plane flew through the night and Harry thankfully took the chance to lose himself in the mind numbing movies and forget what was happening. The air service provided a meal with the purchase of a ticket so at least Harry was given some decent food. Much better than what he got at the Dursleys anyway. He dozed for a bit but despite how tired he was his mind was still too chaotic for him to try and close his eyes to sleep. He couldn't believe that the Dursleys were actually going to such extremes to get rid of Harry. It made him question just how truthful this information was. They had to be fairly confident in the information if they were willing to spend the money and fly all the way to the States. That was the part that made Harry so nervous. They had to be wrong though; it was the only answer that Harry's mind would allow. He was relieved when the plane finally began to make its descent so that he could get off. They were far to many people jammed closely together for his liking. Going through customs at the airport was a huge pain but Harry just felt relief when he had finally gotten Hedwig back. She looked a little ruffled and unhappy but she was all in one piece and for the most part she seemed all right.

There was a five-hour time difference between New York and London, which is where they took off from. The flight itself had been a little over eight hours which meant despite their long flight it really was only as if they had taken a three hour flight. It was almost eight at night here. Luckily Harry hadn't slept on the plane so after the forty-minute drive in a rental car into the city and checking into their hotel he was more than happy to crash on the floor since the Dursleys wouldn't dream of giving him the bed. He woke up a couple of times disoriented and feeling like he should get up because of the time change but other than that he slept fairly soundly despite all of his worries.

The next morning the Dursleys got up early despite Dudley's protests. Vernon had soothed him by saying that they had something to take care of and then they would be able to enjoy their vacation. He'd been looking at Harry while he said it. So as they were eating a huge breakfast with Harry watching he couldn't help but ask.

"Are you really going to try and give me to some man you aren't really even sure is my father?" Harry demanded.

Vernon glared at him not wanting to put up with his questions. But Petunia put on her smug expression that Harry was beginning to hate. She didn't question how he knew. She probably felt that they were almost rid of Harry so she was no doubt feeling generous and willing to finally tell him the truth about their very unexpected trip. The thought made Harry scowl.

"Oh he's your father all right. I read it all right there in Lily's diary. She kept the thing beneath a bunch of old items of our parents to make sure it was well hidden. I got the box after her death and to think I almost didn't look inside it. Lily didn't want everyone to know the truth that she wasn't quite as perfect and wonderful as everyone believed her to be. She didn't want her husband knowing of her indiscretions with some American man in a bar," said Petunia obviously relishing the thought of finally beating her sister at something. Harry knew that she thought of herself as a proper and dutiful housewife and to find out that his mum had been unfaithful meant in her mind that Petunia had turned out to be the better wife.

"So she met someone in a bar that doesn't automatically mean he's my dad right?" Harry asked nervously.

"She wrote that she was certain your father was the American man she had the liaison with," said Petunia with confidence. This was her dream come true, beating Lily and getting rid of her horrible, freakish son. Harry could practically taste her glee over the situation. "She had written down his name and we were able to find him. He's a very rich and well-known man, I'm sure he'll be more than willing to take you in. He can afford it that's for sure."

"But what if it's not true?" Harry asked desperately.

"They have DNA tests now to check for those sorts of things and from I've read he can have these things checked very quickly. He's probably had his fair share of paternity claims with all the money he's got," Vernon added his two cents worth.

"But it is true and you are going to live with him," said Petunia with an air of finality that ended the conversation and made it clear that her word was law.

"I want to read my mum's journal. I want to see for myself if that's really what she wrote," Harry demanded.

"You'll know the truth soon enough boy now sit down and shut up. We only have to put up with you for a little longer and I'd prefer that I didn't have to listen to your whining until then," Vernon growled his face turning purple which was never a good sign.

Harry knew there was nothing more that he could do but it didn't make him any less scared about the situation. He didn't know what to think or feel. This couldn't really be happening to him right? He was terrified of just how confident Petunia was and he wanted to read the journal but Petunia refused to let him look. In the end he could do nothing but go along with them. It was hard after a year at Hogwarts where he had been a leader and been able to make decisions for himself to once more be under the absolute authority of the Dursleys. They didn't care about explaining things to him or about his opinion on certain matters. He felt helpless. They did what they wanted and expected him to fall in line or else face their wrath.

That was how Harry found himself once more in the rental car. His trunk was packed, Hedwig's cage was in his lap and they were off. Harry tried to entertain himself with gazing around the beautiful city. He had never seen buildings quite so tall or seen so many people before. He'd never been to a big city like this before, besides just glimpses of London. The Dursleys never bothered to take him anywhere so he loved getting the chance to see new places. It made Harry wonder about American wizards and if they had a place like Diagon Alley hidden somewhere in between the busy streets and tall skyscrapers. They drove into the very heart of the city. They seemed to be getting closer and closer to one tall building that really seemed to stand out above the rest. It was shaped differently from the others. Instead of just being all right angles this one had curves and eye-catching architecture to make it stand out amongst the other skyscrapers. It had STARK written across it in big and bold letters. It could have probably been seen for miles.

As it turned out the Stark building was indeed their destination. Harry felt his nerves ratchet higher as they made their way into the lobby of Stark Tower. It was so pristine and to Harry it almost felt like stepping into another world. When he had walked into Hogwarts it had been like stepping into the past with an ancient castle that didn't use any form of electricity. If walking into Hogwarts was like walking into the past then Stark Tower was like walking into future. Everything looked so advanced with the touch computer screens at the information desk and the metal and glass motif throughout the lobby. Harry was in awe and momentarily forgot why they were there in the first place. He was reminded when Vernon charged up to the information desk demanding to see a Tony Stark right away. Harry felt a jolt and wondered if that was the name of the man that they thought was his father. If he was Tony Stark did that mean that he owned this building? The thought was mind boggling to Harry.

"I'm sorry sir but that's simply impossible. You can try to call his assistant and book an appointment. But I know for a fact that the chances of that happening are very slim. It can take months to schedule an appointment and even then Mr. Stark is known for missing his appointments. Mr. Stark is a very busy man," said the receptionist in a polite but firm tone.

Harry thought it was rather stupid of Vernon to fly all this way and not have researched the man enough to realize that they would need to have made an appointment to see him. Unless he hadn't realized that the man was quite so busy or that it would be that difficult to get to see him.

"I've tried phoning before but so far I haven't gotten through. So I've come to see him in person and I think he'll decided to make time for me. I'm here to drop off his son, you see," said Vernon pompously.

That caught the woman's attention as well as the others loitering in the lobby. The Dursleys and Harry had already attracted people's attention what with Harry's large trunk and his owl cage but Vernon's loud declaration had people gravitating closer to hear more and see how this would all play out. Harry himself decided to plunk down on his trunk. He had a feeling this wasn't going to turn out well. The Dursleys had obviously lost it. They were just trying to make money by passing it off that he was really some rich guy's son because if Tony Stark was the same guy who the building was named after he must have been very, very rich maybe even more than the Malfoys.

"As far as I'm aware Mr. Stark doesn't have a son," said the receptionist.

"He doesn't know. The boy's mother was my sister and she never bothered to tell him since she was married to another man at the time," Petunia butted in. She couldn't seem to help herself when it came to badmouthing Lily. Harry clenched his fists and wished that he could speak up to defend his mum. But the situation was already bad enough and he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself by shouting at Petunia.

"I see, well let me just make a few calls and see what I can do," the receptionist replied sweetly.

Harry was very certain that she thought the Dursleys were crazy too and what she was really doing was calling the police or security. He was proved right when two large, muscular men in uniforms appeared from the lift and approached Vernon.

"Sir we're going to have to ask you and your family to leave the premises," one of the guards asked.

"I demand to see Tony Stark. We've traveled a long way and we're not leaving until we see him," snarled Vernon.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," replied the second guard looking irritated.

"If you don't let us see him we'll take our story to the papers. We'll appeal for a DNA test and then sue him for child support. We've spent a lot of money on the boy and we deserve some pay back. We were willing to do this quietly but if he won't see us then that leaves us no choice but take this out into the open," Petunia sniffed.

The two guards and the receptionist were both looking more than a little angry now but they also looked a little uncertain about what to do with the threat of a DNA test and going to the newspapers. The receptionist picked up the phone and made another call.

"Are you threatening Mr. Stark?" the first guard asked eyes narrowing on Vernon.

"No! We just want what we are due for looking after the little brat," Vernon snarled.

This led to some more arguing which led to the second guard trying to restrain Vernon who had begun to shake his fist at them both. Things would have dissolved into chaos had it not been for a pretty, slender woman with strawberry blonde hair stepping out of the lift and approaching the group.

"I'm Pepper Potts, I'm the CEO of Stark Industries and Tony Stark's personal assistant. What seems to be the problem here?" she asked in a calm but authoritative voice. Even Vernon seemed to snap to attention to obey her.

"I'm Petunia Dursley. This is my husband Vernon and our son Dudley and the boy over there is my sister's son. As I was explaining to these idiots, I'm here to drop off my nephew with Mr. Stark seeing as how he is the boy's father," replied Petunia nodding to where Harry sat dejectedly on his trunk petting Hedwig through the bars of her cage.

"And what proof do you have that he is in fact Mr. Stark's son?" Miss Potts asked while looking Harry over thoroughly. Harry stared back wishing that this whole thing would just end. It had to be one of the most horrible situations he'd ever been in and he'd been attacked by a troll, a three-headed dog, a man-eating plant and a Dark Lord.

"My sister's journal," Petunia replied primly. "She wrote of her affair with Mr. Stark and that he was in fact the boy's real father, not her husband. We'd be willing to have a paternity test done to prove the truth."

Miss Potts turned to stare at Harry some more. Her gaze was calculating and assessing. She frowned a bit, her lips turning into a grim frown as if she had reached some sort of decision.

She turned back to the Dursleys. "Alright we have a doctor on staff in the building who is capable of performing such a test here and now. If you'll all come with me we can get this matter cleared up quickly."

She turned on her heel and strode back towards the lift. The Dursleys all followed looking smug, well not Dudley he just looked confused and slightly annoyed probably because this was all taking a lot longer than he had thought. Harry, of course, was left to drag his trunk by himself. One of the guards was kind enough to help him to which Harry thanked him profusely for. He had had to drag his trunk everywhere since getting off the Hogwarts Express and it was really beginning to tire him out.

He was nervous about what would happen next. He was glad that Miss Potts had stepped in to help out and was willing to deal with the Dursleys' crazy idea. He wasn't sure to what lengths they would have gone had she not interfered but he was fairly certain that it wouldn't have been pretty. They were determined to get rid of Harry and they wanted some of Tony Stark's money in the process. Harry had no idea if any of this was true but whatever happened, Harry had a feeling that his life was drastically going to change.


	2. The Truth

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers or Harry Potter. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 2: The Truth**

To say it was awkward inside the lift would have been a huge understatement. No one said a word and Miss Potts and the two guards kept sending the Dursleys disgusted looks when they weren't looking. Their pompous way of talking and their belittlement of Harry hadn't endeared the Dursleys to them. Harry was just once again grateful that Miss Potts was putting up with them at all. It wasn't as if the Dursleys had presented her with a wealth of proof that Harry was Tony's Stark son after all. She could have just kicked them all out.

Speaking of Miss Potts, Harry caught her staring at him again. When she realized that he had caught her she gave him a warm smile, which in turn made him give her a shy, timid smile. She was definitely very nice but she had a strict air about her that was not unlike McGonagall's. Finally they arrived at their floor. Miss Potts escorted them through the hallway until they got to a lab of sorts. Or at least Harry thought it was a lab. There were long tables with a bunch of different equipment and computers that he had never seen before. Harry's eyes couldn't stay still as they worked to see every little detail. His fingers twitched with the desire to touch and look through all of the different machines to figure out how they worked.

There was a man in the lab wearing a white lab coat who stepped forward to greet them. He was an older gentleman with graying dark hair, a kind smile that caused wrinkles to gather at the sides of his mouth and intelligent brown eyes.

"This is Doctor Henry Cunningham. He is Mr. Stark's personal physician and one of the best in his field. These are the Dursleys," Miss Potts introduced.

The Dursleys looked him over with suspicion and grunted their greetings.

"Hello, nice to meet you all. What I can do for you all today?" he asked pleasantly, ignoring the Dursleys sour looks.

"We need a paternity test done for… What's your name honey?" It took Harry a moment to realize she was talking to him. No one had ever called him honey before.

"It's Harry, ma'am," he told her giving her a nervous smile.

"Harry, well Harry needs a paternity test done. I'm sure you have a sample from Tony?" she asked the doctor pointedly. The doctor nodded in confirmation his eyes were a bit more interested now as he looked at Harry. "I just need to make a quick phone call but I'll be right back."

She exited the room pulling out her cellphone as she went. The two guards remained watching over the Dursleys carefully no doubt not trusting Vernon's obvious temper. Dr. Cunningham didn't seem at all unnerved by the strange situation and smiled kindly at Harry once more. It did help him relax just a bit. However, Harry was still more anxious than he could ever remember being in his life.

"Come right this way young man. Here hop up right here on this stool," Dr. Cunningham patted a tall metal stool in front of him and Harry climbed on without complaint. He was ready for this all to be over with so that everything would just go back to normal.

"Now I'm just going to prick your finger with this small needle to take some blood and a swab of your mouth with this Q-tip. Is that all right with you young man? I assure you that you'll hardly feel a thing," he told him.

Harry nodded his agreement and opened his mouth and held out his hand when Dr. Cunningham requested him to.

"Perfect now we'll just get these samples ready, put them in this machine here and then I can compare them to Mr. Stark's since his have already been prepared," he said cheerfully.

The Dursleys watched everything that Dr. Cunningham did very closely, not that they would know what it was he was doing. Harry only had a limited knowledge about how DNA worked. He understood the basics but didn't know what markers to look for when comparing different DNA strands to see if they were related to one another. Biology and physiology hadn't interesting him as much as mechanical and electrical engineering had.

After about ten minutes the machines chimed and Dr. Cunningham went over to check the results. He looked them over several times and finally wrote down his final conclusion making both Harry and the Dursleys anxious to hear the results of the tests.

"Well?" Petunia demanded.

"I'll give the results once Miss Potts returns," Dr. Cunningham said serenely not at all put off by Petunia's rudeness.

Harry fidgeted nervously on his stool, the Dursleys muttered under their breath and Dudley brought out his handheld game after his whining to leave got him nowhere. He started to play, oblivious to the tension in the room. Harry was almost jealous of his stupidity and just how easy it was for Dudley to ignore what was going. After all it wasn't his future that was hanging in the balance based on some blood work. What felt like hours later, which was realistically probably a couple of minutes Miss Potts returned. She looked a bit flustered but she visibly managed to calm herself down before turning to look at Dr. Cunningham.

"What were the results?" she asked clutching her cell phone tightly seemingly needing to brace herself for the answer.

"I can say with a hundred percent certainty that this young man right here is the biological son of Anthony Edward Stark," said Dr. Cunningham in a firm voice.

"Right," agreed Miss Potts her face paling before getting ahold of herself again and turning to the Dursley.

"See? I told you it was the truth," Petunia bragged.

"Yes, of course, I apologize for all the trouble that you had to go through," Miss Potts said appearing as if she was restraining herself from strangling Petunia. "Now moving on to the matter of custody. You mentioned that you wanted to turn over custody to Mr. Stark? Would that be full custody you were speaking of?" Her ability to take things in stride and think ahead to important matters impressed Harry.

"Yes and we want it done as soon as possible, but we'd like some sort of compensation for the boy. I mean we've been stuck raising him for eleven years ever since his mother and her husband died. We deserve something for it," said Vernon.

"I'm sure we can figure something out," replied Miss Potts her face tight with a forced smile. "If you come with me I can have the paper work drawn up in a matter of moments and you can be on your way. Mr. Stark would like to do this as quickly as possible with all parties coming out satisfied with the arrangement. I'll have security escort you to the conference room and I'll meet you there shortly."

"Perfect, come on Diddykins," Petunia called merrily as the guards led them away.

None of the Dursleys even bothered to say goodbye to Harry. They just left without a backwards glance. Harry didn't really care about them not saying goodbye. He was too absorbed in his own thoughts to even acknowledge them. His entire world was crashing down around him and he didn't know what was real anymore. It had all been true. Harry's mum had cheated on his dad—no not his dad— James Potter with this Tony Stark person who was Harry's real dad. Harry didn't know whether or not to feel elated that his dad was really alive or horrified that his mum really did have an affair with someone else. He was thrilled to be rid of the Dursleys but terrified at being given over to some person he had never even met before, even if they were his real father. What was Tony Stark like? Miss Potts was his assistant and she said that Tony Stark wanted to get custody quickly. That would mean that he wanted Harry, right?

"Harry sweetheart, are you all right?" Miss Potts asked gently.

"Yeah," Harry mumbled.

"Did you know that Tony was your dad?"

"No, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon just told me yesterday. I always thought James Potter was my dad," he replied.

"Yesterday? You only found out yesterday?" She seemed shocked before composing herself. "Your aunt mentioned that your mother and her husband passed away?"

Her eyes were gentle and Harry found himself liking her a great deal.

"Yeah I was only a year old. Everyone thought Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were my only living relatives so I got put with them," replied Harry.

"Well how do you feel about living with Tony now?" she asked.

"I don't know, I've never met him," said Harry with a shrug.

She smiled. "What I'm getting at is would you like to stay with your relatives?"

"No," Harry said quickly.

She got a serious expression on her face for a moment. "They haven't hurt you, have they Harry?"

"No," replied Harry, the Dursleys had never hit him before. Well Dudley had but he was pretty sure that wasn't what she was asking. "They just don't like me. Aunt Petunia didn't like my mum and so they don't like me either."

Harry was leaving the statement at that. He didn't want her knowing about the chores and the cupboard under the stairs. He'd never told anyone about them. He hadn't even known that what they were doing was wrong until he was older and went to primary school. It was there that he saw the way normal families were supposed to act. They were supposed to love all their children and treat them the same, which was definitely not the case with the Dursleys. But he could never bring himself to tell anyone about his situation. At his primary school the teachers would have never believed because they thought him a liar and once he got to Hogwarts it just didn't seem as important. He supposed he was also a bit embarrassed. The wizarding world thought of him as their hero. What would they do if they had known their hero had grown up in a cupboard under the stairs?

Miss Potts looked sad before forcing a smile. "Well I'm sure Tony will like you and that you'll like him. You look just like him you know. I knew the moment I laid eyes on you that you really were his son. You have the same hair and the shapes of your faces are similar."

"Really?" Harry couldn't help but enthuse. Despite the situation he was still very excited at the prospect of having a living, breathing father.

"You bet," Miss Potts agreed with an even brighter smile. "I'm going to bring you up to the penthouse Harry and get you settled okay? Then I'm going to go finish the paperwork with the Dursleys. Tony's… out but I've called him and he should be here any moment so you won't be alone too long all right?"

"Okay," Harry agreed.

She smiled and said thanks to Dr. Cunningham. Harry did as well. He was about to try dragging his trunk from the lab but Miss Potts assured him she'd send someone else to bring it up for him. For now he just carried Hedwig's cage.

"That's a very nice owl you have. I don't think I've ever seen anyone with a pet owl before," Miss Potts commented as they road up the lift.

"Her name is Hedwig. She's a snowy owl and she's very intelligent," Harry gushed. She had been his first real present and friend, and Harry loved her. Hedwig puffed up at the praise.

Miss Potts smiled at him. There was silence for a little bit and there was an important question that Harry desperately wanted to ask. But he was nervous about the answer. But he was a Gryffindor after all and his whole house was about courage and bravery.

"Did you talk to him?" Harry asked before he could lose his nerve.

"Did I talk to who? You mean did I talk to Tony?" Harry nodded. "Yes, I did."

"Did you tell him about me?" Harry stroked Hedwig and avoided Miss Potts's eyes.

"I did," she said gently. "Are you worried Harry that Tony won't want you?"

Harry nodded, unable to meet her gaze.

"You have nothing to worry about. I won't lie. I don't think being a father was ever a part of Tony's plan for his life but I know he would never send away any child of his. Tony isn't always the best at expressing his emotions so it may take some time for him to warm up to you but don't you ever worry about not being wanted okay?"

Harry just nodded.

"Hey look at me." Harry reluctantly lifted his gaze to look at her.

Her eyes were warm and caring as she looked down at Harry. "Everything is going to be just fine. I promise. You are more than welcome here. You won't ever be unwelcome. This is your home now and I want you to feel accepted. If you ever don't feel that way you can come and talk to me all right?"

"Thank you," Harry murmured shyly feeling a rush of warmth towards Miss Potts.

"Your welcome, and I mean every word," she said sternly.

Harry smiled once again reminded of Professor McGonagall.

"Here we are," she said blithely as they got off the lift.

Harry could only gape in wonder at the massive room he found himself in. It was beautiful and the large glass windows gave a spectacular view of the city.

"Wow!" Harry breathed in amazement. "Is this where Mr. Stark lives?"

"This is one of his homes. He just recently built Stark Tower actually. He moved in just a few weeks ago. It has all of the modern conveniences. In fact the things in here are one of kind since Tony built them all himself," Miss Potts explained.

Harry took a tentative step into the room. It was hard to believe that his dad owned this and that this was only one of his houses! Harry was more than certain now that Tony Stark was richer than the Malfoys if he could afford all of this. Not to mention that he must be interested in engineering like Harry if he had built a lot of the technology himself. He wondered how Draco would feel knowing that there was a muggle who was richer than his snotty family.

"Greetings Master Harry," a male voice from the ceiling suddenly called.

Harry jumped and looked all around for the voice.

"Who said that?" Harry asked in wonder.

"That would be Jarvis, Tony's computerized butler. He's a system that is built into the building and he controls the tower. He keeps track of things and helps me to make sure that everything in Tony's life runs smoothly," Miss Potts explained carefully.

"I am looking forward to getting to know you, Master Harry. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask me," Jarvis said.

"So he's an AI," said Harry having some knowledge about such things. "It's really impressive that Mr. Stark was able to build one into a building. I've never heard of anyone being able to do that before. I thought that technology like that was years away."

"Well Tony's quite good at making the impossible, possible. And you seem to know what you're talking about. Do like you computers?" she asked.

"I like learning about how different parts of machines work. I've always wanted to try and build my own robot but the Dursleys would never even let me near anything like that," Harry replied sadly.

"I'm sure Tony would love to show some of the things in his workshop. Although, you would have to be very careful, the equipment and tools can be very dangerous," Miss Potts told him.

"What does Tony do?" Harry asked curiously. Tony Stark was obviously very wealthy and probably very well known as well if even the Dursleys could track him down. But Harry hadn't been allowed to watch the tellie and for the past year he'd been away at a magical school very cut off from the goings on of the muggle world. He wasn't up to date on muggle news at all. In fact he didn't think he'd ever watched the news before or read a muggle newspaper.

"You don't know?" Miss Potts questioned, surprised by his lack of knowledge.

"I don't know anything about him," Harry replied with a shrug.

Miss Potts gave a short, amused laugh muttering something along the lines of 'he's going to love that' before saying in a clearer voice: "Stark Industries was created by Tony's father Howard who was a gifted inventor. It was originally a weapons company but recently Tony's turned the company around and has been working to make it the only name in clean energy along with various other pursuits. He has a few other… hobbies but I'll let him tell you about them. Now I really have to go back to take care of the paperwork in regards to your custody. Make yourself at home Harry there's food in the fridge if you're hungry and I'll just turn the TV on for you. Jarvis will change the channel for you if want to watch something else or if you need anything else just let him know. Tony should be here any minute."

"Thank you Miss Potts," Harry said smiling at her.

"Call me Pepper, I spend a lot of time with Tony so the two of us will be seeing quite a bit of one another." She gave him one last smile and then got back in the lift to head back to meet up with the Dursleys to get everything squared away. Pretty soon he would be done with the Dursleys and he would never have to see them again. It was definitely a relief. Pepper's assurances had helped to relax him a bit too in regards to finally meeting his new father.

Harry stared in stunned awe as he gazed around the room. He was rooted to the spot and felt very out of place in such a beautiful and obviously expensive room. Hedwig jolted him from his reverie with a loud indignant hoot. She was no doubt stir crazy from the long amount of time she had spent in her cage. Harry was a little hesitant about opening the cage. What if Mr. Stark didn't like her as much as the Dursleys did? His things were much more expensive looking than the Dursleys were and he might get made if Hedwig decided to perch on them. Hedwig hooted again and he decided that it really wasn't fair to her to keep her cooped her up for so long no matter the consequences to himself. So he opened her cage. She shot from the cage. She made several loops around the high vaulted ceiling before settling herself on one of the ledges. Harry tentatively made his way to the couch. It was leather and looked very expensive. It made Harry nervous about attempting to sit on it.

The rug looked comfortable so he decided that kneeling on it was probably a better option. He lowered himself onto the rug to watch the television but his gaze traveled to look out the window. There was a large balcony outside that overlooked the city. Harry was almost giddy as he stood back up to go and walk out on it. Hedwig joined him swooping down to perch on his shoulder. He was thankful for her constant presence, at least he had her as some source of familiarity in this strange new environment. The glass doors opened automatically for him and he walked out onto the stone walkway. The railings were made of glass as well and standing next to them gave Harry the sensation that he was about to fall. There was another balcony underneath this one that was a little wider but he still had a good view of the street and he couldn't quite believe just how tall the building actually was. He grinned as he looked out over the city with the wind ruffling his hair. If he closed his eyes he could almost imagine that he was flying. For the first time since coming to the States he felt content.

A strange whirring sound pulled him from his thoughts. He opened his eyes to see something hurtling towards the tower. It was too small to be a plane or a helicopter and it was vaguely shaped like a person. The red and gold colors of the object stood out to Harry. As it got closer to the tower Harry realized it was in fact shaped like a man. Some type of robot maybe? His eyes widened when he realized that whatever it was, it was slowing down and it looked like it was going to land on the strange circular ledge off to the side of the building. Harry watched in amazement as the walkway opened up and all these different mechanical devices were revealed. They worked together to start dismantling the robot as it walked down the pathway towards the penthouse. As more of the pieces were pulled from it, it became apparent to Harry that it wasn't a robot at all but a man wearing a suit of metal.

Harry gaped in astonishment and quickly rushed back inside to meet the man wondering who he was and wanting to more about how he managed to make a suit of armor that could fly. Hedwig squawked unhappily as she was displaced from his shoulder but followed him back inside the penthouse. Once inside Harry was confronted with a man of average height and build with messy dark brown hair and artfully styled facial hair. He had intelligent brown eyes, which were looking Harry over as intently as Harry was looking him over. There was something familiar about the man but Harry couldn't quite place it. He moved towards him cautiously suddenly forgetting all about the questions he'd wanted to ask about the metal suit.

"Hey," the man finally greeted.

"Hullo," Harry murmured back unable to take his eyes from the man.

"Nice accent," the man commented.

"Thanks?" Harry replied in confusion.

"Tony Stark," the man said offering Harry his hand. He wore an unidentifiable expression as he gazed at Harry.

Harry's eyes widened in shock and his mouth dropped open. This was Tony Stark? But that meant that this man was Harry's dad. He didn't quite know what to make of that.

"Harry, Harry Potter," replied Harry slowly reaching out to shake the man's hand. He searched Mr. Stark's face for some sign to see if he was happy about Harry being here or not but the man's expressions were inscrutable.

"Right, do you like Chinese food? I like Chinese food. Jarvis order us some Chinese food. I'm starving," Tony said.

"Right away sir," Jarvis responded.

There was another long pause. Harry stood awkwardly staring at his scuffed trainers glancing up at Mr. Stark through his bangs. Tony kept looking around the room as he rocked on his heels but his eyes kept eventually returning to look at Harry. He looked to be at a loss and didn't seem to know what to do. It made Harry feel a little better that he seemed to be as confused about this entire situation as he was. At the very least he didn't seem like he was hostile even if he wasn't being overly affectionate. Honestly, Harry probably wouldn't have known what to do with someone like that. He was never used to hugs or a lot of praise due to his life at the Dursleys.

"So I guess we should find you a place to sleep. We definitely have enough rooms around here. Come on I'll show you," he said moving towards a door along the same wall as the lift. Harry hadn't even noticed it when he'd first entered the room, too enamored by the large glass windows and other gadgets in the room.

Harry followed along obediently. Hedwig swooped down to perch once more on Harry's shoulder.

"Whoa, where'd you get a tame owl?" asked Mr. Stark startling a bit when he noticed her.

"She was a gift. Her name is Hedwig. She's very intelligent," Harry informed him stroking her feathers. Hedwig puffed up at the praise and then proceeded to preen Harry's hair in affection.

"Very interesting gift choice," Tony murmured, still staring at Hedwig.

"Do you want to pet her?" Harry offered.

Tony looked thoughtful for a moment then shrugged, "Sure why not?"

He reached out to stroke Hedwig's feathers. She watched him closely in suspicion and Harry crossed his fingers, hoping that she wouldn't bite him. Luckily she didn't and allowed him to give her a couple of quick pats.

"Very nice owl," Mr. Stark commented off handedly causing Hedwig to puff up again.

"She likes you, she normally bites anyone else who pets her," Harry told him.

"Now you tell me that she bites? What? Were you hoping she'd bite my fingers off?" Mr. Stark gasped in mock outrage.

"Well she didn't," Harry said with grin at his over exaggerated expression.

"Good thing too or I'd have had her stuffed." Hedwig hooted in indignation and Harry hoped that he was joking. "And then I'd have had to build myself some new robotic fingers, which actually might not be a bad idea… You know in the event I ever lost a limb. It'd be good to have a backup…" He noted Harry's shocked expression. "Let's go find you a spare room shall we, kid?"

He led Harry to the door. There was a keypad, which Mr. Stark quickly typed the password into before the door clicked open and they entered a corridor. Like the room he had first entered it was made of the same dark gray stone and it was almost familiar in the way that it reminded him of Hogwarts's stone interior. Thinking of Hogwarts made him think of Dumbledore. What would the Headmaster do once he realized that Harry wasn't at the Dursleys anymore? He said that he had needed to stay with the Dursleys for the protection of being with his mum's blood relatives. The Dursleys had been the ones to give him up though. Whatever reasons they had decided to take Harry in, in the first place didn't seem as important to them now as getting rid of Harry or getting money from Tony Stark. It didn't seem like there was anything that the Headmaster could do to change their minds. Harry felt a moment of worry that he might be putting his new father in danger but then he remembered the suit of metal he had been wearing. He seemed like a man who could take care of himself.

Mr. Stark showed Harry several of the rooms. He showed him his own master bedroom but mentioned that he rarely slept there anyway because of long nights in his workroom so if he really wanted he could have the room. Harry was surprised by the generous offer but declined it nonetheless. He was used to small spaces. Even at Hogwarts he'd shared a dorm room with four other boys so he really didn't Tony's huge bedroom.

In the end Harry chose the bedroom across from Mr. Stark's own. It was already completely furnished with a queen-sized bed, desk, wardrobe and dresser. Mr. Stark said that he'd call an interior designer so that Harry could decorate the room in any way that he wanted.

"You don't have to do that, sir." Harry told him feeling awkward that Mr. Stark would spend money to decorate the room when it already had nicer furniture and looked more put together than anything he had at the Dursleys. He also had his own private bathroom with a huge tub and a separate waterfall shower. It was more than Harry had ever dreamed of.

"It's not a problem. Besides what kind of father would I be if I just gave you some old, boring guest room? You should personalize it, make it your own. Also don't call me sir. Sir was my father. You can call me Tony. Okay kid?"

"Okay," Harry agreed readily. "Thank you, Tony."

"No need to thank me. The way I see it, I have what ten? Eleven years worth of gifts to make up for. When's your birthday by the way?"

"The 31st of July 2000," Harry replied promptly.

"Right, and you'll be how old then?"

"I'll be twelve," said Harry.

"I can't believe it's been almost thirteen years since I met Lily," whispered Tony looking a bit dazed.

"You remember my mum?" Harry asked excitedly.

Tony hadn't even mentioned anything about his mum and with his confusion over Harry's age he'd begun to fear the man didn't even remember her.

"I do. She was gorgeous, witty and she could do this thing with her…" he trailed off as he realized just who it was he was talking to. "You really probably don't need to know about that part."

"Aunt Petunia said you met in a bar," Harry persisted.

"We did. I was in London for a business trip and I was tired so I decided to avoid the press by going to this dive bar. And that's where I met Lily. She seemed out of place in a dump like that and it immediately drew me to her. I wanted to see just what her story was. We ended up talking for a while and I really enjoyed the conversation. She could keep up with me, which was kind of rare. She honestly didn't know who I was and that made things more interesting. I didn't have to worry about an ulterior motive with her. We decided to meet again.

"We met every day for the next two weeks that I was in London and on the last one she came back to my hotel room with me. She confessed to being married and well back then my moral compass wasn't all too strong so it didn't bother me that much. So we uhhh well," he glanced at Harry's eager expression, cleared his throat uncomfortably and continued. "We uhh… made you and then said our goodbyes. I never saw her again although I was tempted. She really was a really interesting woman, very mysterious and sexy as… um she was very pretty and nice I mean. But, well, anyway that is how I met your mother," Tony finished lamely.

Harry was quiet for several moments. So it had all been true. His mum had had an affair that had led to him. He didn't know how he felt about that. Well on the one hand he was grateful because if they hadn't he wouldn't exist. But they had both known what they had been doing was wrong but they did it anyway. Some of his worry must have shown up on his face because Tony spoke up again.

"I know it's hard to understand kid. But I think maybe you'll understand better when you're older that adult relationships can be a bit tricky. Sometimes you can have feelings for more than one person at time. Of course you shouldn't act on them when you're with someone else but that's not always what happens. People make mistakes. It's in our nature and all that. But oh hell, I'm really the last person you should probably be listening to about this stuff. I'm terrible with relationships. Pepper would definitely be better at this. Hell Jarvis would be better and he's not even a real person," Tony said, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Okay," said Harry feeling just as uncomfortable with the situation.

"I did really care about Lily, though, and it's more than I can say for a lot of the women I've… dated. Actually I was crazy about her and she seemed to really like me too. We just didn't go about it in the right way. If it's any consolation I don't think she meant for it to happen at the time. But sometimes people don't always think rationally. But live and learn and all that jazz."

"I guess I just don't like that mum lied to everyone about me. It wasn't very fair," replied Harry softly.

It was nice to know that his parents had cared about one another but it was hard hearing that his mum and dad hadn't cared about who they hurt with their relationship. It also hurt that his mum had kept the truth from everyone, even Tony. Maybe if she had come clean earlier then maybe he wouldn't have had to grow up with the Dursleys.

"Yeah, it's a tough situation and I'm sorry that we put you in it. But whatever we did it isn't your fault. You're completely blame free. And I am happy to have you here," Tony told him.

"Really?" Harry asked.

"You bet. I've always wanted a Mini Me of I course I was planning on building one but you work out fine too," said Tony.

"Mini Me?" Harry asked in confusion.

"No. Oh well, maybe that's a movie a little bit out your age range. What do kids your age do exactly?"

Harry shrugged. He had no clue what normal kids his age did since he'd never really been one.

"Master Stark, the food you ordered has arrived," Jarvis suddenly chimed in.

"Great I'm starving. Let's eat," Tony enthused heading back towards the living room.

Harry dutifully followed. He was feeling a little bit better about the situation. He was more comfortable in Tony's presence. At the very least he was reassured that his father actually wanted him around. It was a disappointment that both his parents had knowingly committed adultery but like Tony said it wasn't really his fault and he figured in the end it didn't change the way that his mum had loved him. The same could be said about Tony's feelings towards him. It was nice to have a father who cared after all.

**I moved up Harry's birthday by twenty years so that it would fit in with the timeline of the Avengers which I believe took place in 2012. So Harry was born in July of 2000 and Voldemort's defeat happened on Halloween of 2001. Harry went to Hogwarts in 2011 etc. Lily, the Marauders and Snape were all born twenty years earlier which means they would have been born around 1980. Dumbledore and Voldemort's birthdays are going to stay the same for the reason that I wanted to have Dumbledore involved in WWII and Voldemort spent an extra twenty years before coming out as a Dark Lord. So in a way I guess witches and wizards have longer lifespans because Dumbledore is still as spry for his age. Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed, ****favorited and followed!**


	3. Tony Stark

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Harry Potter. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 3: Tony Stark: Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist... Father?**

Tony Stark was a lot of things. He was easily one of the most intelligent men on the planet. He was also one of the richest. He was good looking and charming and could get any woman that he wanted. Not that he wanted to of course since he had Pepper now. She would probably castrate him and then proceed to destroy him in a very horrible and painful manner if he ever even so much as looked too long at another woman. She knew him too well. He definitely didn't want to go out that way. After all what would people say if Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man, was whipped by a slender strawberry blonde woman? It really didn't bear mentioning.

Anyway he'd gone off on a tangent. Tony was a lot of things. He had been the Merchant of Death. But he was working on that. He was Iron Man, a hero. To the government and SHIELD he was an arrogant menace who didn't play well with others. But the one thing he never thought he'd be was a father. The very thought of having children left him in a cold sweat and feeling slightly nauseous. So how had he ended up one?

Tony hadn't had the most amazing of childhoods despite all the material possessions his parents had showered him with. His mother had been distant at best and blatantly neglectful at worst. She'd only had him to land his father and after she got her money she kept her distance from Tony. His father was too busy creating SHIELD and searching for good ol' Captain America to spend too much time with his only child. Not to mention his bad drinking habits. Then there were Tony's own self-destructive habits to consider. He liked driving fast, performing dangerous stunts, drinking, and he could be quite obsessive when he got a new idea; going for days without sleep and only eating when Happy, Rhodey, Jarvis or Pepper stepped in to remind him.

Frankly he just didn't think that he was father material and there were many who would agree with that assessment. He wouldn't know what to do with a kid. This was why he was careful. He had to be or else get trapped like his father and sentence some poor kid to the miserable life that he had had. So despite the many women he'd been with, he had never once slipped up. There had been only one time that he'd been less then careful and provided a small window of opportunity for something to happen. But then he'd never heard from her. He'd been sure if something had happened she would have notified him. Lily had been honest, secretive about her past and purposefully leaving out details yes, but brutally honest when it counted. After all she did spill the beans that she was married that first night when he first tried to pursue her. She told him nothing else could happen between them and despite his frustration he'd agreed only for the chance to see her again arrogantly thinking he could change her mind. That in itself was a shining example as to why he shouldn't be a father.

He'd been thrilled when things took a turn in the direction he'd desired them to since he'd first spotted her in the bar. A little guilty too since she had seemed so faithful to her husband. So when things finally happened he had been in too much of a hurry, too intrigued by the stunning and brilliant red head he had gotten to know in the past two weeks for him to be cautious. And now he was paying for that stupidity. Well maybe that was mean. So far Harry seemed like a fairly decent kid. But then again Tony had contributed to fifty percent of his DNA so he was bound to be a pretty awesome kid or well at least half awesome.

When Pepper had called to tell him that he needed to get his ass back to the tower because some British people had shown up with a kid that looked eerily like him, he'd felt like his world had tilted off its axis. For Pepper to have called him in such a wild panic he knew it had to be serious. He also knew when she told him the names of the couple that this was the real deal. Lily had only mentioned her sister and her husband once but the names were strange enough for them to have stuck in Tony's head. Combined with the fact that they were British was all the information that Tony had needed.

He'd known then that it had finally happened. That his worst nightmare had finally happened. He didn't even need to read the text Pepper had sent him afterwards to inform him of the positive results of the DNA test. He had already known. He was a father. A father to the thin, eleven, almost twelve-year-old boy with messy dark brown hair like his and emerald green eyes like Lily's sitting across from him trying to eat Lo Mein with chopsticks and failing miserably.

"You don't have to eat Chinese with chopsticks," Tony offered. He was only proficient at it due to all the company luncheons he had in China.

Harry sent him a determined, stubborn look that clearly said he was at the point where he just wanted to beat the chopsticks at their own game and that giving up now meant that they had won. Tony could relate.

"Here hold them like this, at least you'll get more in your mouth that way," Tony said showing him the proper technique.

Harry flushed in embarrassment but grinned in triumph when he actually managed to get some of the noodles in his mouth after that. Tony grinned too. He really was a cute kid. Tony gave most of the credit for that to himself; although, he did seem to have Lily's sharp cheekbones. But most of it came from Tony, obviously. It was weird to have this virtual stranger who looked like a younger version of himself sitting across from him, casually eating food with him, and knowing that if it weren't for Tony they wouldn't even exist. Tony had made a lot of different things in his life: weapons, robots and other various technology but this was the first time he'd actually made another human being. An even scarier thought was that he was now responsible for another human life and considering that he was barely responsible with his own life he wasn't sure if he could be trusted with Harry's. At least he had Pepper and Jarvis to help him. Between Pepper and Jarvis he was fairly certain that Harry would survive to make it to his teens. After all how much more difficult could taking care of a kid be from taking care of a dog? He just had to make sure to feed him, clothe him and occasionally make conversation with him right? Yeah this was going to be a piece of cake.

"Why did you build that metal suit? It looks really neat," Harry suddenly piped up looking at him with interest.

"You mean you don't know?" Tony replied stunned that he wouldn't know about Iron Man. He thought he was fairly well known all around the world by now, especially after the incident at the racetrack in Monte Carlo.

"No that's why I asked," Harry said giving him a duh look. Tony was fairly certain that he stole that look from Tony since he was very fond of giving it to people when they said something stupid.

"I'm Iron Man," Tony added just to see if the name would ring any bells.

It didn't. "The suit's not even made of iron. Why would you give it a name like that?"

"The public gave it that name not me; although, my very first suit was made up of random iron scraps. So when I upgraded the armor I stuck with the name for simplicity's sake," Tony responded with a shrug.

"So why did you build it? How did you build it?" Harry persisted looking very interested.

"Well its kind of a long story. But I guess you could say I'm sort of, well, I guess you could say I'm a superhero."

"Really? Do you go around saving people? Like in a comic book?" Harry looked a bit more star struck now.

"Yeah, I even have a really cool story on how I became a hero wanna hear it?" Harry nodded eagerly. "Well before everything happened Stark Industries used to make weapons. I made a trip to some hostile territory in Afghanistan to give a display on a new missile I'd built: the Jericho. Afterwards I was traveling back to the airport with a group of soldiers for protective detail and we were attacked. A group of terrorists called the Ten Rings wanted to kidnap me so that I could build weapons for them. The soldiers were over powered and during the ambush I was hit in the chest—"

"Are you all right?" Harry gasped sending nervous glances towards Tony's chest.

Tony couldn't help but grin. It was kind of nice to have someone hang on his every word the way that Harry was. It was pure interest in his story not like other people who wanted to use the information to sell papers or use it as some form of blackmail. Harry was actually concerned for Tony's wellbeing not Tony Stark: Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist. It was also nice that Harry had no biases from an outside source. His opinion about Iron Man hadn't been influenced by the media and Tony was free to give him his own personal view on the events without any previously formed prejudices.

"I'm fine now. But you see some shrapnel, little pieces of metal, got stuck around my heart. To save me the terrorist group got a doctor to try and save my life. The best he could do was put an electromagnet in my chest to keep the pieces from moving any closer to my heart. His name was Yinsen and he saved my life, more than once. Anyway while I was trapped I updated the device the good doctor put around my heart. I needed a power source to continuously power the electromagnet. So I made the arc reactor. See?" Tony pulled down the neck of his shirt so that Harry could see the glowing blue circle lodged in the center of his chest. "This little baby will keep me going for a long time. Of course I've made several improvements since the original. It's also what's going to put me on the map for being the only name in clean energy."

Harry's eyes widened and his hand moved as if to touch it but he pulled back at the last moment. He shyly met Tony's gaze.

"It's okay you can't hurt it, you can touch it if you want," Tony assured him.

"Er, um that's okay. I better not," Harry mumbled looking uncertain as he gazed at the arc reactor in Tony's chest.

Tony shrugged. "Well anyway the terrorists wanted me to build them the Jericho. But instead I started building my very first and very crude suit of armor. It was actually pretty good if I do say so myself for being built with a couple of scraps inside a cave. Once it was almost done I used it to break out. But Yinsen didn't make it. He sacrificed himself to give me the chance I needed to escape."

For a moment Tony couldn't continue, remembering just how much of an amazing man the doctor had been. One of those rare, genuinely _good_ people. If wasn't for him Tony wouldn't have changed. Sure it wasn't much but he did make Tony want to at least try to be a different person, a better person. If it wasn't for him he never would have escaped or become Iron Man. All the people he had saved since then were in large part thanks to him. He really couldn't have done any of it without Yinsen.

"I'm sorry," Harry said softly. His eyes full of understanding and sorrow. Tony could see that the kid actually got it. That he understood where Tony was coming from and that was more than what he had expected from an eleven year old. What sort of eleven year old understood about the burden of another person sacrificing their life for yours? Apparently Harry. The question was how?

"Me too kid, me too. So I built the suit, stopped making weapons and decided to put a stop to all the groups that were terrorizing innocent civilians. Since then I've had a few other little adventures," Tony mused thinking back to Obi, Vanko, and Hammer.

"You really are a hero," said Harry looking a bit starry eyed. Maybe Tony was giving him the wrong impression about what he was really like but before he could correct him Harry asked eagerly, "Will you tell me about your other adventures?"

"Sure, I don't see why not," Tony grinned, glad to have an enthusiastic audience to his exploits. He wasn't sure why but he wanted Harry to see him as a hero. He wanted him to be proud that Tony was his real father and not Lily's husband like he'd grown up believing. He wanted to outshine whatever stories Harry had been told about this other man. He was Tony's kid and he felt a strange surge of jealousy to think that Harry might prefer Lily's husband over him.

Tony gave him a rundown of everything that had happened to him since he became Iron Man. He left out the bad things like his almost dying from the palladium core in his previous arc reactor. There was no need to worry the kid too much. He did describe in detail how he ended up kicking Vanko's robot's butts even showing Harry clips of video from the fight. It was while showing him these videos that he realized Harry was smart. Not just normal smart either but probably genius level. Lily had been uncommonly intelligent and he had graduated from MIT at 17 so it did make sense that any child they had wouldn't exactly be an idiot. Still Tony hadn't been expecting it. When Tony talked about the thrust reactors and the various other parts of his suit he hadn't expected Harry to be able to understand what he was talking about so he'd dumbed down the explanations. But Harry did know and if he didn't know right off the top of his head it only took a quick explanation for him to figure it out.

This new insight into Harry was exciting to him. It gave Tony a way to connect with Harry because he had no other clues on how to interact normally with kids. Tony had started testing Harry's knowledge by upping the level of difficulty in their discussion. He was pleased when Harry was able to keep up with him and was actually as enthusiastic about mechanics and engineering as Tony was.

"I've always wanted to build my own robot but I've never gotten the chance to. The Dursleys wouldn't even let me watch the tellie let alone give me spare parts to build my own remote control car," Harry said with a pout.

"Well, I can't let any kid of mine reach his twelfth birthday and not have built his own robot. I built my first engine when I was six you know," Tony bragged.

"Really?" gasped Harry looking excited.

"Yup, now let's go down to my workshop. I have everything that you could possibly need to build yourself the most bada— awesome robot ever. But FYE no building any doomsday robots. Pepper would kill me if I let you do that," Tony informed him.

"I won't," Harry assured him seriously.

The two of them headed towards his workshop. He wasn't sure if he should be letting an eleven-year-old use a soldering iron or a blowtorch but he was supervising and Harry seemed like a pretty responsible kid. Besides Tony had taught him how to use all the equipment beforehand and he'd used tools like that when he was Harry's age and he was fine. Tony wasn't sure how long the two of them were in the workshop but it was surprisingly fun. Harry was a whiz and soaked up all the information that Tony imparted to him like a sponge. By the end of their bonding session they'd built a remote control monster truck that could transform into a small robot and shoot flames. Harry named his creation Tank and the huge smile on his face as he tested it out made Tony feel oddly lighthearted.

He'd only known the kid for a couple of hours and he was already feeling sappy towards him. It was definitely a strange feeling. He honestly hadn't thought he was capable of it. When he'd first realized the truth his first thought had been there must be someone else who could take him. But when Pepper told him his relatives had come to drop him off and that his mother had died, he knew there was no escaping the responsibility. He then came to the decision, after freaking out a bit, that he would at least try to make an effort to be a semi-decent father since it was obvious the kid didn't have any where else to go. He also didn't want to be the same absentee type of father that his own had been. But he hadn't been expecting to make a connection to Harry so early on in their relationship. He still had no idea if he was capable of being a father but after spending time with him he at least knew that he wanted to attempt it.

"Master Stark, Miss Potts would like me to inform you that she has ordered pizza and that she is in the penthouse waiting for you and Master Harry," Jarvis informed.

"We better go, Mini Me, Pepper does not like to be kept waiting when pizza is involved," he told Harry.

"Ahhhh," Harry whined looking disappointed.

"Bring the car. Just don't make it transform or shoot fire balls," Tony offered.

Harry grinned and scooped up his new toy and followed Tony into the elevator.

"Thank you, for everything Tony," Harry gushed, green eyes bright with happiness. "Today was so much fun. The only other person I've ever really talked to about this stuff is my friend Hermione, she's really smart too. She's a bit too practical though. She likes to follow the rules and keeping things structured. She'd tell the professors for sure if I ever tried to build a fire breathing robot."

"Sounds like Pepper. Always taking the fun out of things," Tony mused. "But I had fun too kid, we'll do it again sometime, okay?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically the simple statement seemed to make him even happier and it was weird to Tony that he was the cause of that happiness. He was pretty sure he had never made anyone that happy before with so simple a gesture.

When they made it back to the penthouse Pepper was flopped in one of the armchairs looking exhausted. Surprisingly Harry's owl was perched on the arm of the chair and was allowing Pepper to pet her. The thing was definitely an interesting pet choice and surprising enough it did seem pretty smart. More than he was expecting from a bird. It just better not crap all over his penthouse. Pepper looked frazzled and Tony knew that the conference with the Dursleys must have been difficult. When she saw them step out of the elevator she forced a large grin.

"What have you got there, Harry?" she asked brightly.

"A remote control car," Harry enthused.

"Very neat, did you build it?"

"Yup! Well Tony helped a little," Harry added sheepishly.

"Did he?" Pepper's eyes narrowed on him in suspicion.

"Hey don't look at me like that. It's completely kid safe," Tony assured, crossing his fingers behind his back as he lied to her.

"Uh huh." She didn't look too convinced but she seemed too tired to press the issue. "You did a great job Harry and I'm glad you finally got the chance to do what you've always wanted. Here I bet you both are hungry. I ordered us a couple of different kinds of pizza. I wasn't sure which kinds you liked, Harry."

"I don't know, I've never had pizza before," replied Harry looking over the selection curiously.

"Never had pizza! Where have you been that doesn't have pizza? It must be a dark, terrible place. A wasteland, where dreams go to die," Tony gasped clutching his heart and making Harry giggle. But inside Tony was kind of concerned over why a kid his age would have never had pizza before. Pepper was frowning darkly and even the bird seemed to be scowling. Tony was now more curious as to how Pepper's meeting with the Dursleys went. There had been several irregularities he'd noticed while spending time with Harry and he wanted to get to the bottom of them.

"Well go on grab a slice, let's see how you like it. New York City pizza is some of the best out there." Tony waved him towards the pizza boxes.

Harry took a slice of cheese pizza and took a bite chewing slowly.

"Well?" Tony demanded impatiently.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment his expression carefully neutral until a wide stretched over his face. "It's really good."

"Good, cause if you hadn't liked it you would have been disowned." Tony grinned and grabbed his own slice.

Harry laughed and Pepper rolled her eyes before turning to Harry asking him how he liked his new room and said that tomorrow she would take him shopping for new clothes while the decorators got his room ready for him. That was another thing Tony had made a note of. Harry was in serious need of some new clothes. The ones he was currently wearing looked five times too big for him and they looked like hand-me-downs at best and rags at worst. Yeah he definitely needed to hear more about these Dursleys but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he heard.

Pepper was very good at talking to Harry. She was kind but authoritative and Tony would forever be eternally grateful for her. He was pretty sure that if she wasn't here he'd be having a full scale melt down right about now, like crying in a corner and rocking back and forth bad, over the fact that for the next six almost seven years he was going to be legally responsible for a kid and all that it entailed. He knew there was no way he could do it alone.

"So Harry now that Tony has custody of you, we can change your last name or you can keep it as Potter which would you prefer?" Pepper asked. "You don't have to make a decision right this minute of course, it's just something I'd like you to think about and I wanted to give you that option if you wanted it."

Harry looked nervous and glanced at Tony out of the corner of his eyes. "Well I'm not really a Potter now am I? So I guess being a Stark wouldn't be too bad. I mean if you want me to be?"

It seemed to be some sort of test for Tony. But Tony honestly didn't understand what the kid was getting at. "Yeah I don't have a problem with you being a Stark. Of course you'll have to make sure to live up the legacy. After all we Stark men are known for our dashing good looks, our brains and our killer charm with the ladies."

"Tony," sighed Pepper with a roll of her eyes.

Harry smiled. "Okay, I'll change my name to Stark. Um well my middle name is James is that okay?"

"Do you want to change it?" Pepper asked gently.

Harry again looked contemplative. "I don't think so, if that's okay?"

"Sure, kid its absolutely fine," Tony assured. The kid did deserve to have a bit of stability.

"So Harry tell us more about you? What are your favorite subjects in school? Who are your friends?" Pepper questioned.

After a little more prompting and assuring that they both really wanted to hear the answers, Harry launched into a long winded story about his love for engineering, his two bests friends Hermione and Ron and how he wanted to some day fly. They learned he had attended a boarding school for the first time this year in Scotland. He described the teachers and the school, which sounded like a pretty impressive old castle, quite a bit but Tony couldn't help but feel he was leaving some important details out. There were several times that he would start telling them a story but then cut himself off midway through and it piqued Tony's interest. The fact that Harry had avoided all the attempts to give him the name of the school only made him more interested in discovering the truth. He made a note to have Jarvis do a search for boarding schools in castles in Scotland as soon as he could.

After their long discussion the three of them watched a movie. Tony got bored and started flicking pieces of popcorn at Harry. The look of surprise on his face as he threw popcorn at him was hilarious and after only a moment's hesitation he started throwing it back. It ended with Tony being double-teamed and wrestled to the ground while popcorn was tipped down his shirt curtsey of Pepper holding him down while Harry poured. After that Pepper proclaimed it was time for bed.

"But mom I don't want to go to bed yet," Tony whined.

Harry grinned and nodded in agreement. They might have gotten away with it too had Harry not let out a wide yawn.

"It's almost ten Tony. And Harry we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, not to mention you're probably still a bit jet lagged. I'll make sure you get all settled in all right?" Pepper offered.

Harry nodded without complaint as Pepper escorted him back into the living quarters. She took the time to tell him the password into their private quarters something Tony hadn't thought of doing the first time around. Tony trailed after them into Harry's bedroom feeling very out of place in the domestic scene as Pepper showed Harry how to use the different faucets on the shower and sink and that Jarvis controlled the lights so he just had to tell him when he was ready for bed. Hedwig's cage had been settled on a nice stand and the owl had put herself to bed on her perch with her head tucked beneath her wing. Harry's trunk had been put at the edge of his bed and Tony felt strange knowing that that trunk was all Harry had in regards to possessions. It seemed like a kid his age should have had more toys or something.

"Goodnight Harry, tell Jarvis if you need anything and he'll get Tony or I. Anytime of night don't hesitate okay?" Pepper insisted sounding like a worried mother hen.

Harry nodded. "Thank you, Pepper. Goodnight."

Then surprising Harry and Tony, Pepper swept Harry up in a fierce hug. Harry blushed a bright red but he ended up hugging Pepper back just as tightly.

"Goodnight Tony," Harry said giving him a slight, awkward nod.

"Night, kiddo," said Tony ruffling Harry's hair feeling just as awkward.

With that Tony and Pepper left Harry alone in his new room to get ready for bed and headed back to the living room.

"So spill what happened with the Dursleys," Tony demanded.

"Oh my god! They are the most despicable people I have ever met in my entire life," Pepper ranted. "I mean they didn't just not like him. They hated him, Tony. I mean they actually hated a little boy in their care. A baby, Tony. A cute little baby who had done nothing wrong. The sister was a bitter witch of woman and extremely jealous of Harry's mother. So she just decided to take it out on Harry. There were even a couple of times they slipped up and called him a freak. I think they must have been intimidated by his intelligence or something, which they should have been considering they're all as bright as a box of rocks."

"What else did you find out?" he asked feeling his anger threaten to start to bubble up. He decided that it was time he did a search on the Dursleys, Lily and Harry.

"He's been living with them since he was fifteen months old. They said Harry's mother and stepfather died in some sort of car accident. The sister made it sound like the husband was drunk or something but knowing how hateful that woman is I'm not inclined to believe her. They also went on and on about how they struggled without any other income to support Harry but their obnoxious, pig of a son had an expensive gaming device and nice clothing while Harry obviously got his hand-me-downs. An environment like that can't have been good for his self-esteem. I guess we should be thankful he's as well adjusted as he is. I just don't understand those people. Harry is such a sweet boy. They had to be monsters to go out of their way to be cruel to him." While she had been continuing her tirade she had been pacing back and forth in front of Tony. She only stopped when she finished speaking, and looked at Tony with sad eyes.

Tony felt a peculiar sensation of anger swell in his chest to know that Harry had grown up in a similar environment to his own but even worse. At least he had had nannies and butlers, and free access to anything he wanted. It seemed like Harry had been treated like a very unwanted freeloader being both neglected and mistreated.

"No wonder he was so concerned about getting my approval. Do you think they hit him?" Because if they had he would kill them. It was as simple as that. He'd hire someone to make it look like an accident and that would be the end of them.

"Harry said no when I asked him and I'm pretty sure he was being honest. But what they did was almost worse. I'm sure there's more to the story but according to some of the reading I've done it'll take time for Harry to trust us and talk to us about what his life was like at the Dursleys. I don't know if you noticed but most of what he told us about his life was about the boarding school he attended this past year. He barely even mentioned his life before that except to tell us about how he spent a lot of time in the library of his elementary school."

"Yeah, I noticed. Was there anything else about the Dursleys? Where do they live? Where do they work? What are their hobbies?" Tony asked Pepper in rapid fire. "Jarvis get me everything you can on the Dursleys. Also while you're at it pull up everything on Harry Potter's school records and Lily Potter's death."

"Right away, sir," Jarvis responded in typical fashion.

There were many different ways that he could have his revenge on the Dursleys. He'd just need to hit them where it hurt them the most.

"The little I was able to gather was that they live in Surrey or at least they did. They were planning on moving now that they've been 'compensated' for taking care of Harry," Pepper spat. "In the end just gave them what they wanted to get rid off them even though they certainly didn't deserve it and I knew we would get them back later once Harry was securely in your custody and they signed all the waivers so they would never get the chance to contest it or make trouble for you or Harry. I made them sign waivers saying they could never go to the papers or tell anyone anything about what they know about you or Harry. So there's absolutely nothing they can do in regards to blackmail or threats once we go after them and if they do they'll be thrown into a federal prison for twenty years. Either way it will be a win-win situation for us. Anyway the uncle works for a drill company Grunnings or something and the aunt's a stay at home mom. The cousin was just the whiniest little shit in the entire world."

"Wow Pepper, I never expected to hear you speak so badly about a kid," Tony mocked absently while his mind was whirling with plans.

"You would too if you met the kid. Tony, you're going to make these people pay, right? You won't let them get away with this? And I know the responsible thing for us to do is to turn them over to the authorities and let them deal with it, but I think whatever you can dish out might be better," Pepper said hesitantly, nervous about giving Tony such leeway.

Tony grinned evilly. "Of course. No one messes with _the _Tony Stark. It's nice to have you on board for once, Pepper. Together I'm pretty sure we can make the Dursleys lives a living hell."

"Good," Pepper grinned back just as fiercely.

Tony's grin widened. If he had more of a heart he might have almost felt sorry for what was in store for the Dursleys but he didn't so he would enjoy every second of making their lives miserable. Did they really think they could take money from Tony Stark after the way they had treated his kid? Did they think they could just waltz in demanding _his_ money and practically forcing him to _buy_ his kid from them? Obviously they didn't know anything about him or what a vindictive son of bitch he could be. There was a reason people had called him the Merchant of Death before they called him Iron Man. Tony Stark had more resources and more weapons at his disposal than any man on Earth. He could kill them and get away with it and what was more he wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it. No the Dursleys would be quivering in their boots if they new what kind of man it was that they had pissed off.

He settled down on the couch and scanned the information that Jarvis managed to bring up on Harry and Lily first. He remembered then that he had done a search on Lily before to see if she had indeed been genuine when they first met. One could never be too careful when one was as rich as himself. He was able to prove that a Lily Evans did exist and her picture matched her face. He found the records of where she was born, where she had grown up and where she went to school up until the age of eleven. After that he could barely find anything on her except for the article on the death of her parents in some sort of gas leak that led to an explosion and her marriage license to a James Potter who he couldn't find anything on. His search on her now was barely any more successful. He did find Harry's birth certificate and an announcement of the deaths of Lily and James Potter. But the cause was listed as a gas explosion too, which was a bit too much of a coincidence for Tony. Had Lily's family been involved in something that led to their deaths? And it said Harry had somehow survived the explosion. How did that work? It just didn't seem plausible, unless he had been in a different part of the house and the house had been large enough for that area to not have been affected. The police report was far too vague for Tony's liking.

Leaving that for later he then looked over Harry's school records. His first year of school he passed with flying colors and there was even a note from the teacher that said they should seriously consider moving him up a grade but the request was denied by his legal guardians. The next year however Harry did extremely poorly and the teacher had notes about him being disruptive and having behavioral problems. The next few years followed in a similar pattern. Notes from parent-teacher conferences said that the Dursleys agreed with this assessment of Harry's character and blatantly told teachers that Harry was a nuisance at home as well. Going on a hunch Tony brought up the grades of Harry's cousin and found that they were mediocre at best. Tony seethed with the realization that the Dursleys must have ordered Harry not to get better grades than his tub of lard cousin. He was relieved that Harry hadn't let the Dursleys keep him from educating himself. Who knows, if things had been different they might have killed Harry's interest in school all together. Tony did wondered if he should start looking for a tutor for Harry but he figured there would be more than enough time for that once he was settled in better.

The other strange thing he found was that the records for this boarding school didn't match up. The Dursleys had stated their reasons for not sending him to the public school was that they were sending him to St Brutus Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. But there was no record of a Harry Potter ever attending which was a good thing for the Dursleys because Tony would have killed them if they had actually sent him to that horrible place. But then where had Harry been for the past year? Tony really didn't like not being able to find out. People were supposed to be able to find out anything on the Internet and Tony was one of the best hackers out there. But wherever Harry had been they obviously didn't file their records on a hard drive.

The information Jarvis found on the Dursleys was basically the same as what Pepper had told him. The uncle was a mediocre drill salesman, the aunt a stay at home mom who liked to throw dinner parties and the overweight cousin who was an idiot and a bully. He was disgusted to see that they made a very comfortable living. There was no reason whatsoever that they couldn't have afforded better clothes for Harry besides pure spite. He was also so much skinner than their own small whale so he knew they must not have been feeding him well enough. He'd also watched the security videos of the Dursleys. He was disgusted by their behavior and the way they constantly referred to Harry as a brat or simply the boy and at worse they called him a freak.

Tony noticed that all of the vacation tickets or hotels that they booked were just for three people, which meant they had left Harry behind. There was a pattern forming one he really didn't like. He grew more and more enraged with these people the more he learned about them and the urge to spoil Harry rotten was growing just as bad. He realized that if they had been too cheap to buy him clothes that actually fit him then would have probably been way too cheap to buy him birthday and Christmas presents. The thought that Harry might never have gotten a birthday or Christmas presents made Tony almost physically ill and he knew nothing he did to the Dursleys would be considered too bad. He would put feelers out so he would know exactly where they ended up moving to and make sure someone was always watching them to learn their habits. He wouldn't do anything to them just yet he wanted to bide his time, let them think they were safe and then he'd pounce.

The Dursleys wouldn't know what hit them. He'd make their lives hell by doing little things at first. He'd hire people to sneak in and mess with their plumbing, electricity and furniture until they thought they were going crazy. He would mess with their pasts, ruin their credit scores and wipe out any record of graduating from high school or college. He'd give out their National Insurance Numbers and make credit cards in their names and hand them out to people to use. He'd have someone stage a break in and trash their home and steal their most valued possessions. He would destroy their vehicles and get the uncle fired from his job without any chance of getting a new one considering by then his records would be nonexistent and his credit would be down the drain. He'd get dirt on them then spread the rumors to all the neighbors since they were people that cared about their proper public image. He'd stop their bill payments from going through so they would they lose their house and he would lock up their bank accounts to keep them from getting access to the money they'd demanded from him to try and support themselves. Then once they were sufficiently cowed and broken, Tony himself would pay them a visit. After he was through with them he'd give them the option to turn themselves over to the police or let Tony crush them completely. He'd also spend the time to teach the fat bully a thing or two. It would be wonderful and he couldn't wait to start. They were going to regret the day they made an enemy of Tony Stark.

Tony was then reminded that he had a lot of enemies. It was really going to be imperative that he keep Harry a secret from the general public for as long as he could. People would use Harry to get to him and he didn't want to put the kid in that kind of danger. He was determined to even keep from SHIELD since he didn't trust their security systems or their motives. He was already been making the arrangements to turn Harry's identity into the best kept secret in the world. He was building all sorts of different firewalls and codes protecting the files, which named Harry as his son and his ward. He also had Pepper draw up some of the most airtight contracts for any workers that may come into contact with Harry. He knew they could still talk on pain of death but realistically he knew that couldn't completely isolate the kid from the world. He would just try and protect him to the best of his ability and that's all he could do. And after the years he'd suffered with the Dursleys he deserved the most comfortable and safe life Tony could provide.

**I hope the look into Tony's mind was realistic and in character. I also hope everyone is somewhat satisfied with the plans Tony has for the Dursleys and my reasoning as to why they were able to get away with it, for now. I promise that they will get what's coming to them and I plan on showing the scene where Tony confronts them. Also this is an Avengers crossover so the other Avengers will make their appearance but first I just wanted to focus on establishing Tony and Harry's relationship before adding them to the ****mix. Anyway sorry for the ramble and thanks for all the wonderful reviews! And to thanks to anyone who favorited or followed! I have chapters 4, and 5 written I just have to go over them to check for typos and make sure everything makes sense before posting them so they should be out within the next week or so.**

**PS Thank you to the RulerOfAllEvil for taking the time to find out that the Avengers most likely took place in 2010. For the sake of this timeline I'll just continue to pretend things happen in 2012 so all the other events are moved up a year as well. But anyway thank you for bringing it to my attention :)**


	4. Would You Like to Phone A Friend?

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Harry Potter. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 4: Would You Like to Phone a Friend?**

The next morning Harry woke up confused as to why he was so comfortable. He expected to be waking up to the uncomfortable cot in the small room at Privet Drive. But the bed underneath him at the moment was even more heavenly than the beds at Hogwarts. It was then that he remembered where he was. Harry opened his eyes and was confronted with the view of his new bedroom.

He grinned to himself. Yesterday really hadn't been a dream after all. He was really in New York City with his new father, a superhero just like in one of Dudley's comics that he used to steal. Only he was funnier and smarter and cooler and well, real. Harry had to admit he was thoroughly enamored with Tony. He'd let Harry in his private workshop, and helped Harry to complete his life long dream. Remembering that dream he quickly glanced to the space next to his bed and grinned widely when he saw the robot he had made sitting where he'd left it. He had named it T.A.N.C for Totally Awesome New Creation or well just Tank. He'd named it that after Tony explained that Jarvis stood for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. He wished that he could show Tank to Ron and Hermione. Ron would think it was wicked and want to use it to set Mrs. Norris on fire and Hermione would secretly be impressed all the while saying how irresponsible it was to have something dangerous like that.

He wanted to send them letters but he didn't think even Hedwig would be able to fly all the way back across the ocean. Maybe he could at least try phoning Hermione. He'd have to ask Tony if it was all right because long distant phone calls were probably very expensive. Speaking of owls he didn't think anyone would be able to send him one. If they did, the owls would have to go over the ocean, and he was pretty sure that they would just turn around and go back to the one who sent them before even attempting it. Ron and Hermione would no doubt get worried when this continued to happen, and think that something had happened to him when the owls couldn't find him. He would definitely have to phone Hermione, and have her try to get in touch with Ron for him so they wouldn't worry about where he was. It wasn't too pressing of an issue because the only ones who would probably actually try to contact him would be Ron and Hermione, and it had only been two days since the end of term. Hagrid might owl but probably not until closer to the new school year or until around his birthday.

Harry would worry about that later right now he caught a whiff of pancakes, and he noticed that Hedwig was no longer on her perch. He pulled on the black slacks from his school uniform and the nicest shirt of Dudley's that he owned, the one that had the least amount of holes. Pepper said they would be going out today, and considering how nice Pepper and Tony's clothing were he didn't want to embarrass them with the rags the Dursleys had given him. He then made sure his trunk was locked tight. He couldn't imagine what would happen if they found his books or the photo album with all the moving pictures. But technically wasn't he allowed to tell Tony? He was his father after all. Hermione had been allowed to tell her parents about Hogwarts. They surely couldn't arrest or expel him for that. But then again this was the United States maybe the laws were different for American wizards. Would he need some sort of permission slip to tell Tony? Or would he need to okay it with the ministry and the Americans? Whatever the case Harry decided it would be best to simply wait things out.

He wanted to get to know Tony better and feel him out to see where he stood in his thoughts on magic. So far Harry was very impressed by him. He was very laidback and liked to joke with Harry. Harry didn't think he'd ever gotten on this well with an adult before especially after such a short time after meeting them. It may also have been because Tony was closer to being a big kid rather than an adult that they got on so well.

He also really liked Pepper. She was kind and understanding but not too overbearing or smothering, which made for a very good balance. When she had offered to let him change his name he had been relieved. He felt like an impostor using James Potter's surname. He didn't really think it was fair to use the name of the man who had given his life for him, and to continue to pretend to be his son when it was all just a terrible lie. He had decided to keep his middle name the same to honor James for sacrificing himself for him and his mum even if he still felt a guilty little about it. Had James even known the truth that Harry wasn't his real son? He didn't know but it bothered him quite a bit. Harry also wasn't really sure if he felt comfortable taking on the last name Stark but as it was he was even more uncomfortable being called a Potter when he really wasn't. He was glad Tony at least didn't seem to mind that he had decided to take his last name.

Harry still wasn't one hundred percent comfortable in his new surroundings. He didn't know what to make of the things that Tony had told him yesterday about him and his mum. He knew it was going to take some time before the information really settled in his brain and he was able to deal with it. For the time being he was just going to try and take things day by day. He'd process the information more once he felt more settled into his new environment.

Harry followed his nose back out to the main area of the penthouse to find Tony making waffles with a large industrial sized waffle iron. There was batter everywhere, even on the ceiling. Harry figured it took special skills to get it all the way on the ceiling especially with how high the ceilings in the penthouse were.

"Good morning, Mini Me. Did you sleep okay?" he asked looking up briefly from his fight with the waffle iron.

"Yeah, the bed is really comfortable," agreed Harry, hesitantly walking closer to the chaos Tony was creating.

"Great, cause if it wasn't we could always pick out a new one," Tony offered half serious. "We could even get you bunk beds. I bet those would be fun. All that room for activities."

"That's okay. The mattress I have now is good," Harry assured him.

"If you say so."

Tony looked like he had no clue what he was doing and Harry would have laughed had he not looked like he was moments away from smashing the thing on the floor.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, that's okay, kiddo. I wanted to try and make you breakfast but this thing isn't cooperating. And here I thought I could understand any machine. Now look Iron Man outwitted by a waffle maker." He was trying valiantly to pull out the waffle that was only half cooked and stuck to the top of the waffle iron. Batter from the half cooked waffle was spilling everywhere and he kept burning his fingers on the hot iron.

"Did you spray the sides of the iron first?" Harry asked.

"Spray it? With what?" Tony asked perplexed.

"You know with cooking spray or margarine, so it wouldn't get stuck to the iron like that. Sometimes kitchen appliances like that will say non-stick but you still have to put something on them or else you never get them off," replied Harry knowledgeably.

Tony blinked and then looked sheepish, scratching at the back of his neck. "Yeah, cooking's not really my thing."

"It's okay. I know how to cook. I used to make breakfast all the time. I can make you breakfast," Harry assured moving to help him. It was the least that he could do for Tony after all that he had done for him. Since he had been young the Dursleys had drilled it into his head that he shouldn't be such a burden to other people and that he needed to earn his keep.

"You know what, on second thought why don't we go out to eat? You haven't seen any of the city and I know a perfect little diner that's very good at keeping their noses out of their customers business, and in keeping them hidden from the press. We can meet up with Pepper afterwards and do some shopping. Sound good?"

Harry nodded, excited about the prospect of getting to go out to eat. First of all because he'd never even been out to eat before and second because he couldn't wait to see more of the city.

"Oh before we go, have you thought about a color scheme for your room?" Tony asked. "Pepper needs to know so she can tell the decorators what to do while we're out."

"Umm, I don't really care," Harry shrugged.

"Okay how about a favorite theme or color or something?" Tony persisted.

"Do you think they could paint a starry night sky on my ceiling? And maybe a forest or something on my walls?" Harry asked wanting something to remind him of Hogwarts.

"Sure, that sounds great," Tony grinned. "Oh just one more thing. The owl. Is she okay by herself?"

"Yup she's fine." Harry looked to where Hedwig was nestled on the ledge around the high ceiling looking extremely content with her new surroundings.

"She won't leave any unsightly droppings on my stuff now will she?" Hedwig hooted imperiously. "That's not creepy or anything... Like she can almost understand…" He shook his head as if to stop himself from even thinking the thought that an owl could understand what he was saying.

"She won't, she knows to go outside," Harry said quickly.

"Good okay, let's go."

They took the lift all the way to the basement where all of Tony's cars were parked. He had a lot of them and they all looked extremely fancy and expensive. They all also had Stark written on the license plates proving that they did in fact all belong to Tony. Tony ushered them into the backseat of a nice dark colored one with leather seats, which was parked right outside the doors to the lift. A man with short dark hair and a large build sat behind the driver's seat, which was on the opposite side from what Harry was used to. There were a lot of little things that made America different from Britain and Harry was having fun picking all of them out.

"Harry meet Happy. Happy, Harry. He's my driver and sometimes bodyguard or he used to be until I upgraded to being my own bodyguard," Tony introduced.

"Hullo," Harry greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Harry," Happy greeted back as they drove out of the parking lot.

As they drove out Harry realized that there was a frenzy of people milling around outside the entrance to the garage. They had cameras and signs and eagerly charged the car when they saw it. But luckily the windows were darkly tinted so they couldn't see inside the car making Harry feel a bit safer. Happy also made sure to be quick and pulled out into the street before any of them could get too close.

"Who were they?" asked Harry in shock.

"The media, my fans," Tony shrugged, casually. "They sort of like to follow my every move."

"Are you really that famous?" Harry worried. He was already famous enough in the wizarding world he didn't really want a lot of attention in the muggle world too. Besides muggle media seemed ten times worse then anything he'd faced so far in the wizarding world. If that small example was anything to go by.

"Yup, but don't worry I've kept any information about you from leaking to the press. You won't have to worry about being hounded by those sharks. I've grown up with the fame so I'm used to it. It doesn't really bother me that much anymore. I just can't bring myself to care about what they think. The public opinion is just too fickle. But you aren't used to it so I'll make sure they stay far away from you for as long as I can."

"Thank you," said Harry, relieved.

"Don't mention it, kid. It's the least I can do for getting you in this mess," Tony murmured softly and Harry wasn't sure if he had meant for Harry to hear it.

Breakfast was in a small, secluded diner that Tony paid the owner to close down for just Tony and Harry. Harry was a little shocked by the amount of money Tony had spent and tried to get him to stop. Tony waved away his concern and assured Harry that he had more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes. Harry was still uncomfortable with it but Harry had a feeling that his complaints wouldn't stop Tony. The man obviously enjoyed spending his money on Harry or anything else that happened to strike his fancy at the moment. Harry did have to admit that it was exciting to be the only ones in the restaurant, and to be able to order anything that he wanted from the menu without worrying about the cost or that he was putting someone out by making them pay for him. Tony even blew bubbles in his chocolate milk and encouraged Harry to do the same.

"So where did you get that scar kid? Should I start calling you Scarface?" Tony asked with a grin.

Harry frowned, that seemed like the type of jibe Draco Malfoy, his nemesis at Hogwarts, would call him. He also didn't like the fact that Tony had finally noticed the unique lightning bolt-shaped scar that he normally tried to hide from the world.

"You don't know what Scarface is do you? 'Say hello to my little friend' no? Nothing? Oh kiddo, we need to watch some movies. Get you up to date on the times," Tony sighed dramatically.

Harry nodded. Television and movies didn't interest him that much since he had never watched it. But he had a feeling watching movies with Tony would be a lot of fun. It seemed like he had to make comments about everything and everyone, and would probably make the actual watching part more enjoyable.

"So where did you get the scar?" Tony asked again looking curious. "It's a pretty unique shape and kind of in a strange place."

"I don't really know. I've had for as long as I can remember. Aunt Petunia says I got it in the accident," Harry said with a shrug trying to be vague.

"Oh when your mom and James died?" Tony asked frowning, obviously trying to work out what set of events would have to occur to give such an odd scar on his forehead.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, not really comfortable with this line of questioning. He really didn't like thinking about it. It made him uncomfortable to think about his mum and James's deaths since they had been murdered while trying to protect him and he had ended up surviving.

Tony seemed to understand it was an area Harry didn't want to discuss, and went back to blowing bubbles in his milk, making Harry laugh.

After their amusing breakfast they met up with Pepper in a clothing store that Tony had once again bought out for the day to make sure that no one saw Harry. Again the experience was incredible for Harry. He got to be the only one in the store and be able to pick out anything he wanted. He'd been hesitant at first but when Tony started throwing things in piles left and right he figured that Tony was going to get him stuff anyway so he might as well get the things he wanted. They also made a stop at a toy store where Harry only grabbed a few things he wanted to give to Ron and Hermione as gifts. He wasn't much for toys himself considering he had never really had any growing up.

Their last stop was at a pet shop where they picked up some new things for Hedwig. He was fairly certain she would adore her new, state of the art cage and toys. They also bought some live mice, which Tony had shrieked in fear over making Pepper and Harry burst into laughter. He'd tried to act tough afterwards and play it off as if he had been joking but Harry and Pepper weren't about to let him get away with it. While at the pet store, Harry ran across a couple of cages with snakes in them. One was a large yellow Burmese python and the other was smaller corn snake. They were having some sort of argument over what types of mice tasted the best when he had first approached them. Harry had fond memories about the snake he'd set loose on Dudley at the zoo so he'd thought he'd stop and have a chat with them while Tony and Pepper were distracted by an argument over Tony's work schedule. The snakes had been thrilled about him being able to speak with them and quickly demanded that he set them loose.

"I can't, I'm sorry. I've just moved in with my father and I don't think he'd like it if I got two snakes. Besides I already have an owl," Harry said apologetically.

"An owl," the corn snake hissed in disgust.

"Yes, as if a bird could compare to the majesty of a snake," the python sniffed in snooty disdain.

"I really am sorry, maybe I can come back and visit?" Harry offered.

"I suppose. Although, I don't know why we'd want to talk with someone who prefers a feather-brained creature to us. Even if you are a rare Speaker of Snakes," the python hissed imperiously.

"I told you, I am sor—"

"Harry? What are ya doing kiddo?" Tony asked appearing in the aisle.

"Um… nothing?" Harry's heart was pounding in fear. Had Tony heard him? What if Tony thought he was a freak for talking to the snakes? He couldn't let him know that he actually understood them.

"It sounded like you were hissing at the snakes," said Tony lifting one eyebrow in confusion as he stared from Harry to the snakes who were watching them a little too intently for it to be considered normal.

"Really?" Harry asked, honestly perplexed.

It had sounded like perfect English to him. The snakes even sounded like they had American accents albeit hissier. In a way it did make sense that he was hissing because to everyone else that's what snakes sounded like. He just hadn't realized that that was what he sounded like. He wasn't sure what was worse being caught talking to snakes or hissing at them. Both would probably make people question his sanity. He should really ask Hermione if she knew anything about wizards being able to speak with animals. He hadn't even thought of it himself when he first entered the wizarding world. He'd been too distracted by everything else.

"Yup," Tony said still eyeing him closely.

"Oh well, it was just for a bit of fun to see if I could get a reaction out of them," Harry said hoping that he would buy it.

"Riiiiiighttttt, just don't plan on getting one, Dr. Dolittle. Snakes are where I draw the line in the strange pet department," Tony said still watching Harry closely.

"I won't," Harry assured him. Not even bothering to question who Dr. Dolittle was. He was getting to Tony always saying strange things that he didn't understand.

Harry let loose a sigh of relief that Tony had dropped the subject. For the rest of the day Harry did catch him giving him the occasional odd look and he prayed that he hadn't scared Tony too much with his snake routine.

Pepper, Tony, and Harry ended their shopping trip with dinner at a small posh Italian restaurant. It was there that Tony and Pepper broached the subject that they were seeing one another with Harry.

"Oh, okay," was all Harry had replied.

"Okay? That's all you have to say?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Well, I thought it was rather obvious. You look at Pepper like Ron's brother Percy looks at Penelope Clearwater," said Harry calmly taking another bite of his dessert. He was comfortable enough now with Tony to kid around with him without fear of being scolded.

Pepper laughed and Tony looked a bit dumbfounded.

"I do not look like a lovesick teenager," Tony declared petulantly.

"I don't know Tony, he does have a point. You do act quite a bit like a teenager sometimes. Well, actually probably closer to a temperamental three year old," Pepper mocked.

Tony pouted.

"You're sure, you're okay with this, Harry?" Pepper asked and he could tell that she was honestly concerned about his opinion.

It was a new sensation for Harry to have an adult care so much about his feelings. He knew the professors at Hogwarts cared about him in their own way, well except Snape of course. But none of them went out of their way to talk to him about how he felt about going to Hogwarts or being the Boy Who Lived. They didn't listen to him like Pepper had been doing so far. It had to be difficult for her as well, having the son from her boyfriend's previous relationship suddenly appear out of thin. It must have been a huge shock and an inconvenience to her. But she seemed to take it all in stride and actually wanted to make him feel welcomed in her and Tony's life.

"I'm more than fine with it. I like you, Pepper," Harry admitted flushing.

"Oh no, don't even think about it, she's mine and while in some instances an older woman might be a good idea, Pepper is far too old for you," Tony said saving them all from the moment getting too emotional.

As it was Pepper did tear up a bit, looking very pleased before concentrating on her dessert.

The rest of their dessert went well with more lighthearted joking. By the time they made it back to the tower the decorators had come and gone and all Harry's new things had been put away in his room. It was strange to think that it was _his _room. He'd never truly had his very own room before and it was great. Tony had been right personalizing it had made it feel more like Harry's, like he was making his mark and that by changing the room he was making his presence here a more permanent fixture in the penthouse and in Tony's life. Besides the painting was spectacular. The forest was very realistic and with the soft, thick rich brown carpet they had installed it really cemented the picture of being in a forest. His favorite thing though was easily the ceiling. He absolutely loved it, even if it couldn't quite compare to great hall in Hogwarts. It was as close as something non-magical could ever come, and Tony had taken the time to create himself. He wasn't sure when exactly he had fit it in between shopping and meals, but he had and that's what really made it that much more special to Harry.

"See it's like one of those planetariums that projects a picture of the night sky. Except mine is ten times better because well I made it. It's more realistic and has more functions. It's a hologram screen set on the ceiling. It copies whatever the star chart is supposed to be around here for the time of year, and projects the picture like you're actually looking up at the night sky. In the morning when you get up you can program it to look like daylight. Neat right?" Tony enthused.

"Yeah," Harry replied stunned and amazed by his creation.

"Tony," Pepper breathed equally awed. "You've really outdone yourself."

Tony just looked smug.

"Thank you," Harry breathed.

"Hey what did I tell you? No thanks needed, it's what fathers are supposed to do. Do stuff for their kids without looking for any type of compensation." The last word was almost growled and for a moment he looked angry. It was gone in a moment and it didn't seem to be directed at him for in the next instant he was smiling at Harry.

Harry grinned at him in turn, all his fears about the snakes washed away. Maybe Harry was still a bit leery of Tony what with his questionable morals in regards to his relationship with his mum but it was hard for him not to like him. There was the fact that he was a hero, he helped him build a robot, and he actually seemed to be making an effort to make Harry feel welcome in his life. He bought things for Harry without looking for any type of reparation on Harry's part, and though they were essential everyday needs that any parent would provide it was still more than Harry had ever received before. Those things alone made him outshine any adult he'd ever encountered. Add that to the fact he was Harry's living, breathing father and he couldn't stop himself from liking him.

The next day Pepper and Tony both had to go back to work. Pepper was the CEO of Stark Industries and was very, very busy. Tony mainly worked on projects that Pepper needed him to or developed things that he wanted to. He was currently working on a device that would be able to power Stark Towers for an entire year and that was just the prototype. They did make sure that one of them was always there with him, and Tony even ended up bringing him down to his workshop with the promise that he would sit in a corner because what Tony was working on was just a bit too dangerous for him to help with. Harry agreed, simply happy to get to watch Tony while he worked.

He'd been nervous the first few times going into Tony's workshop because he knew that magic and technology didn't exactly mix well, which is why wizards still used owls to send letters and what not. He knew that mobile phones and electricity didn't work in Hogwarts because of all the magic. However all the equipment in Tony's workshop didn't seem to be affected by his presence in the slightest, which made sense because his presence never made any of the Dursley's electronics malfunction. The only time he could really remember actively causing problems is when he happened to be at school, and Dudley and his gang had been teasing him. He had been distressed and the lights had started to flicker in the classroom. The teacher had waved it off as bad wiring and Harry had believed it because at the time he hadn't even known he was a wizard. But now it did make him wonder if technology only had bad reactions to active magic or powerful surges in magic. Hogwarts was filled to the brim with magic. You could almost sense its presence in the air. One young wizard not actively using their magic probably wouldn't cause a lot of disturbance amongst the electrical items. Harry was curious, he wanted to discover just how much magic needed to be used in order to disrupt electronics and why they were disrupted in the first place. Unfortunately it wasn't something that he could test at the moment since he couldn't perform magic outside of school.

Later that night Pepper had to fly down to Washington DC for a meeting, which left Harry and Tony all on their own. Tony let Harry pick out whatever he wanted to eat from a variety of different takeaway menus. Harry decided to go with Indian and they got a bunch of different types of curries that Harry had never gotten the chance to try before and he loved it. Then they had big, hot fudge sundaes, and Tony put on a movie. It involved elves, dwarves, and even a wizard with a long grey beard that resembled Dumbledore's. Harry thought this would be a great way to bring up the subject of magic with Tony.

"What do you think about magic?"

Tony looked flummoxed before repeating slowly, "What do I think about magic? You mean like turning people into toads and fairy godmothers who can turn pumpkins into carriages?"

Harry nodded. Those were things that could be done with advanced transfiguration after all. "More or less."

Tony snorted. "That's easy, there's no such thing. I hate to break it to you kid but there's only science. You see way back in the Stone Age when people didn't understand something they would call it magic and ta da! Mystery solved. All their cattle suddenly drop dead they would just think oh it must be that old hag down the road. She's angry at me and she must have killed my cows with some sort of voodoo. Instead of thinking rationally and working it out that, just maybe, the cattle's water source might be contaminated. Anything that history has called magic or claimed it was the work of some vengeful god can all be explained today through science."

"But surely there are things that still can't be understood with science?" Harry persisted.

After all science couldn't exactly explain why Harry could talk to snakes or how he could turn a toothpick into a needle.

"Well we might not have the tools to understand them yet. But we will one day. It doesn't mean we should go all halfcocked and start throwing out that it's the work of some mystical sorcerer," replied Tony firmly wiggling his fingers dramatically.

"Or wizard," Harry murmured.

Tony just chuckled. So Tony firmly didn't believe in magic. Well that was certainly going to make things interesting when he did find out about Harry being a wizard. Would he accept it? Would he accept Harry once he learned the truth? If he could get him to believe it first. Tony seemed pretty convinced that science was the only option. Harry had studied both science and magic and though there were times that they did seem oddly similar Harry held the firm belief that they were also two very different things. It left Harry a bit nervous about coming clean to Tony and he decided to keep the information from him until he knew for certain that Tony wouldn't be disgusted by him once he knew the truth. His only experiences with muggles who knew the truth about magic were the Dursleys, and their feelings of utter loathing made him a bit more cautious about who to trust with the secret. He didn't know Hermione's parents so he couldn't exactly say whether or not they were one hundred percent accepting about their daughter being a witch. They seemed all right with it but he had only seen them briefly at the train station when they had come to pick her up. He really needed more time on how to go about explaining such things to Tony especially when he couldn't even use his magic as proof.

Several more days passed before he felt settled into his new life enough to ask a favor from Tony. He really needed to talk to Hermione. He needed to tell someone about his newfound father and he desperately needed her advice on telling Tony about magic. Of course if he was even allowed to in the first place that was another big reason as to why he needed to call her. He didn't have any access to resources in America. He didn't know where any wizarding streets or shops were located and thus he couldn't get in contact with anyone on what sorts of laws there were. He knew Hermione would be able to get him information much quicker and be more thorough about it. She would also enjoy the chance to compare the two different wizarding rules and regulations.

"Tony do you mind if I phone a friend back in England?" Harry asked him.

"Are you sure you'd like to use one of your lifelines?" Tony replied in an odd tone of voice.

"Um yes?" Harry asked uncertainly. Did that mean he was only allowed to use the phone so many times?

"That means you'll only be left with the 50/ 50 and the ask the audience. With that being said is that your final answer?" Tony continued to use that same odd tone.

"What?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Pop culture references are completely wasted on you aren't they?" Tony said sadly.

"Sorry?" said Harry with an uncertain shrug still extremely confused.

Tony snorted. "Yes, you can _call_ your friend. Do you know if she has a computer with video chat capabilities? Because then you can talk to her on the big screen in here."

"I don't really know, actually I don't even have her number." He had never asked for it since it went without saying that the Dursleys would have never have allowed him to phone her.

"What's her name?" Tony asked going over to the table which held a completely holographic computer.

"Hermione Granger. Her parents are dentists and her birthday is the 19th of September, 1999," Harry offered and he realized that was really all he knew about her life outside of Hogwarts.

"An older woman, very nice," Tony muttered absently as he scanned through the list of people that had popped up in his search.

"She's just a friend," Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh huh. This her?" he asked waving towards a picture of a slightly younger Hermione. She was in a newspaper article about winning a spelling bee or something.

"Yes."

"Hmm. Hermione Jean Granger. Daughter of Doctors John and Jean Granger. The winner of several different debates and a spelling bee champ. Huh," said Tony, whatever he was scanning had made him stop reading aloud and he was now looking at the screen with avid interest.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Oh nothing, thought there was a glitch in the screen. But it's fine," Tony assured him. "She does have a video chat program and an address. I set you up with one of your own and all you have to do is try calling her. It says she's available at the moment."

Harry felt excitement as it rang and a bit of trepidation. It looked like Tony had no intentions of leaving the room and Harry would have to be careful to make sure that Hermione didn't say anything about magic in front of him. It took several rings and he wasn't sure if she was near her computer to answer the call but she did eventually pick up. He grinned as Hermione in all her frizzy haired, buck-toothed glory was plastered over the large screen of the penthouse living room. He had never been so happy to see a familiar face. He hadn't realized just how overwhelmed he was about being alone with strangers, in another country until he saw her.

"Harry? Is that you?" she asked in excitement.

"Yes, it's me, Hermione," Harry couldn't help but reply with equal enthusiasm.

"How did you manage to phone me? I thought you said you're relatives would never allow to use the phone let alone the computer," she said frowning.

"Well I'm not with my relatives, at least not the Dursleys," Harry couldn't help but draw the moment out.

"You mean you're with relatives but not the Dursleys. I thought they were your only ones?" Hermione asked not looking too happy about not knowing something or at least not being able to figure it out.

"I thought so too. But it turns out my dad is alive," Harry told her glancing at Tony who was watching their conversation with unveiled interest.

"Really? How? Oh Harry that's wonderful. But how is that possible?" she said looking tied between excitement for him and wanting to know just how it this could be possible.

"Well it turns out James Potter wasn't my real dad. The Dursleys found out and they flew me to America as soon as they picked me up from the train station. They brought me to Stark Tower in New York City. Have you heard about it?"

"Yes, it was just recently built by Tony Stark. He's brilliant you know. He built his first circuit board at 4, his first engine at 6 and he graduated MIT at 17. He built a suit of armor with a self-powering device called the arc reactor. It's ever so fascinating. I've read all about it even though Iron Man does seem to be a bit of an impractical use for such advanced technology and cause a lot of trouble. They call Tony Stark the Leonardo Da Vinci of our time because of all of the leaps in technology he's made," Hermione recited in typical Hermione fashion.

"I'm not fond of that name. I don't paint," Tony butted in, moving into the path of the camera so Hermione could see him.

"You're Tony Stark," Hermione gasped in wonder, looking a little star struck.

"I am. Thanks for the summary of my illustrious history. Very flattering," Tony grinned and winked at her.

Hermione flushed scarlet. "Why are with him, Harry?"

"Because he's my real dad Hermione, we did a DNA test to prove it and everything. As soon as they found out the Dursleys gave over my custody to Tony," Harry explained.

"But what about…"

"School?" Harry quickly finished for her. "We haven't talked a lot about _it_." Harry emphasized hoping she would understand what the it in question was. "I suspect I'll be back in the fall though. After all we learn so many important things there like history with Binns and chemistry with Snape."

Understanding shown in Hermione's eyes. "Right of course. I would hate that you would end up going to school in America. I would never be able to see you again and your education is ever so important."

"Well who am I to split up such a good friendship?" Tony teased lightly. "You'll have to tell me more about this school of yours, though. I want to make sure it's really up to snuff. Only the best for a Stark."

"Oh I assure you it's a very special school, very private. Hardly anyone is able to get in," Hermione assured him then for the next fifteen minutes she regaled Tony with an in-depth, completely made up school curriculum.

By the end of it even Tony looked thoroughly impressed and his eyes were a little vacant from the overload of information Hermione had provided him with. Harry heaved a sigh of relief that she had managed to distract him from any suspicions he might have had.

"Why don't you tell me everything that's happened Harry? I would love to hear how you are adjusting to America. I bet living in Stark Towers is really fascinating," Hermione said.

"Well I have to get back to my workshop or Pepper will kill me when she gets home so I'll let the two of you catch up. Just hang up whenever you're through okay, kid?"

"Nice meeting you, Mr. Stark," Hermione said.

"You too Miss Spelling Bee Champ and you can call me Tony."

"It's really not proper," Hermione chided.

"I'm not a proper kind of guy," replied Tony and he chuckled at the stern expression Hermione threw his way.

"How did he know that I was a spelling bee champion?" Hermione demanded.

"He has really sophisticated computers that can practically find out anything," Harry gushed.

"Oh I wish I could be there with you. I bet Mr. Stark will be able to teach you so much. My parents got me a muggle tutor in the summers but Tony Stark is a genius and can teach you things that no one else even knows about," Hermione sighed looking dreamy.

"I'm sure that you would be more than welcome to come for a visit. You should see all of the labs and equipment he has here. There are whole levels of the building designated for research. Also he has the whole building wired with a state of the art security system so he knows everything that goes on at all times," Harry told her hoping she'd get the meaning of his words. Just because they were alone didn't mean that Jarvis wasn't watching them and could report the information back to Tony later. Harry like the AI and he knew it would do anything to protect him but Tony had built him to be completely loyal to Tony and Tony alone.

"Right, that's very fascinating you'll have to tell me more about it later when you get the chance. For now tell me everything that's happened. Start from when you first left the train station. Don't leave anything out," she demanded.

Harry did as she said. He didn't have too worry too much about slipping up about magic since there really hadn't been any instances of it since his arrival here.

"What do you think?" Harry asked once he was finished.

"I think you need to get your mum's journal. Maybe once you read what her thoughts were on the situation you might feel a bit better about things. Do you know if you're aunt still has it? Or did they give it to Mr. Stark?"

"I don't know," said Harry glumly. Honestly he'd forgotten all about it with everything else going on. "I'll ask Tony."

"Good, but you do know Tony was right? It's not your fault, Harry," she said gently.

"I know, Hermione its just…"

"You're not who you thought you were anymore," Hermione finished for him.

"Exactly, everyone kept telling me how much I looked like my dad, like James. It just feels like I've been living a lie. My mum lied to me and everyone else. She didn't even tell Tony and she probably didn't even tell James the truth either and I don't know how to feel about her anymore, Hermione. Everyone said how wonderful she was. How could she be so wonderful and keep such a big secret?"

"I don't know, Harry," she said sadly. "But you can't let yourself get too distracted by it. Whatever your mother did, you aren't to blame all right?"

"All right," Harry replied dutifully, not sure if he really believed it anymore.

"Right and I'll make some inquiries on how to go about explaining our school to your father. Professor McGonagall came to my house and gave my parents a complete overview of what to expect. I never really thought about the legalities of it all. But it's definitely something I shouldn't have overlooked. I'll make some inquires get back to you in a couple of weeks with an answer is that all right?" Hermione said, once more all business.

"That's fine," assured Harry. Even if it did turn out he could tell Tony by the end of the week he wasn't sure if he would, Tony's attitude towards magic made him cautious. "Will you let Ron know? I know he doesn't have a phone but I thought you could send a letter for me so he doesn't try to contact me at the Dursleys and get worried about me? Just tell him I'm on vacation don't tell him about Tony just yet. I'd prefer to do that in person. Besides one of his brothers might read the letter and then the entire world will know."

"Of course Harry, do want me to notify Professor McGonagall? Or the Headmaster to the change of your location? You probably should," Hermione worried.

Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to tell them just yet. McGonagall had known his mum and James Potter. She also seemed to have had a soft spot for James Potter. She might be disappointed to find out that Harry wasn't actually the son of one of her favorite students. As for Dumbledore he had seemed very insistent that he stay with the Dursleys. What if he decided that it wasn't safe for him to stay with Tony and Pepper, and made Harry go back with the Dursleys? He wasn't sure if he could make him go back because the Dursleys obviously didn't want him and Tony had officially gotten custody of him but Harry didn't really want to take that risk right now. He wanted to wait and just enjoy his time with Tony and Pepper, and not worry about how Voldemort might cause trouble for them later on. For once he just wanted to be normal. He wanted to be just Harry.

"No, I think I'll wait for now. There's no need to worry them."

"If you're worried about what they might think about you once they know, I think you would be surprised. Perhaps they would be a bit shocked but it wouldn't change their feelings towards you. They care about you Harry and not just about who your parents are," Hermione said in an attempt to reassure him.

"I suppose that's part of the reason. The other part is that I just don't think there's any reason for them to need to know at the moment. I know everyone will have to know eventually but I just want to keep a secret for now," Harry shrugged, but internally he was dreading the sort of scandal it would cause once the wizarding world found out that the Harry _Potter_, The Boy Who Lived, wasn't actually a Potter.

"Whatever you want, I'll do it for you. I know this can't have been easy for you. But are you all right Harry? This is a big change for you, finding out about… about what your mother did and that your real father has been alive all this time. But it can turn out be a good thing if you let it. Tony seems nice. A little odd but nice all the same," Hermione said softly.

"Yeah, we've gotten on pretty well so far," agreed Harry.

"If you want to talk more about it I'm here, you know. Now that you aren't at the Dursleys you can phone me whenever you want to. Well as long as you take the time difference into account," said Hermione with a smile.

"Right, I'll make sure to remember that," Harry smiled back.

"I'm happy for you Harry. I think this will be a very good change for you."

"I hope so Hermione, I really hope so," Harry murmured back.

They said their goodbyes and then with Hermione chiding him to start his summer homework they hung up.

Harry returned to his room to pull out his charms work seeing as how it was the easiest subject for him to complete. He never knew that Tony had been watching their conversation from his workshop or that the man hailed as the Da Vinci of their time was twisting his mind in circles trying to figure just what his newly discovered son was hiding from him.

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I'm sorry that I don't have time to respond to everyone but I just want you to know that I do appreciate anyone who took the time to leave a review and anyone who favorited or followed!**


	5. Furious

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Harry Potter. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 5: Furious **

Harry had been living with Tony for a total of three weeks and things were going well. If only Tony could ignore the fact that Harry was hiding something from him, which he couldn't. He really didn't like it when information was kept from him. It nagged at him until he devised some way to figure it out. And in the end he always figured it out.

Tony knew something was going on with Harry and his school. He just didn't know what it was. He had theories. Outlandish ones yes but he was running out of leads to go on. His ideas ranged from a super secret spy school to a super secret school for geniuses. But then this brought up the point that if they were super secret he would know. He would know because SHIELD would know, and Tony made it his mission in life to regularly hack SHIELD to keep up to date on what the spy organization was doing. He hadn't liked being ambushed and spied on like he had been during his first encounter with them several months ago. He was determined to stay ahead of the curve this time, and not be outshone by those stiff secretive spies. Wow that's a lot of s alliterations in one thought process.

He also wanted to know more about Harry's life with the Dursleys. It was eating him away inside to hear vague references to things that had happened but not being able to outright question him on it. Pepper kept saying it was too soon and that it would halt the thin bond of trust they had formed or some psychobabble shit like that. Tony wanted answers now! At least to one of the two secrets. He definitely wasn't known to be one of the most patient of people, and the mysteries surrounding his kid were enough to drive him up the wall. He was Tony's kid and he should be allowed to know what was going on with him. The not knowing was literally making him insane. The secrets were huge chunks of missing information, and Tony needed to know what those secrets were. How else was he supposed to get to know Harry on a close, personal level?

But despite listening in on Harry's conversations with his friend, and flat out asking him about his school he was no closer to the answers. It was very frustrating not knowing critical pieces of Harry's life. It didn't help that he was being purposefully evasive making Tony all the more suspicious of him. It strengthened his desire to find out his secrets because Tony knew if he was putting that much effort into concealing them then they had to be fairly huge secrets.

Despite these two little snafus everything else was going pretty well. They ate meals together. Discussed advanced thermonuclear physics together. Watched movies together and were generally getting to be pretty good friends. Of course Pepper nagged him that he shouldn't be trying to be his friend but his father. Tony didn't know how though. If he tried emulating his own father then he'd hire a nanny and see the kid once every couple of months. He thought his own technique really wasn't that bad so far. Sure he hadn't really had anything major to deal with yet since Harry was a pretty low maintenance kid, barring the whole secret thing. Harry was polite and friendly and smart. He had a decent sense of humor even though his knowledge of pop culture was practically nonexistent. All in all Tony really didn't mind having him around.

Harry and Tony had even developed a routine. They got up had breakfast together. Sometimes with Pepper. Sometimes without depending on if she had flown off to a meeting or not. They would then go down into the workshop where Tony had given Harry his own array of parts and tools to work with while he worked on his own projects. He'd been worried at first about inviting him down to his workshop on a daily basis. He was nervous that Harry would be a distraction or that he would touch something, and mess up what he was working on. But he didn't, he was very responsible in fact more so than Tony. Sometimes Harry would do his own thing, and other times he would sit quietly and watch Tony work, occasionally asking him a question about what he was doing. It was kind of nice to have some company. He was normally only surrounded by his robots and Jarvis while working on a new idea. Harry was also intelligent enough to keep up with him so his company was actually beneficial in bouncing ideas off of him.

On another positive note Tony had tracked down the Dursleys. They had settled back at Number 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey. They were planning on moving to a better, more upscale location with the money they had gotten from Tony. Tony, however, had quickly blocked any progress in their attempts to buy a new home. While he was doing that he also implemented the first phase of his plan. He'd hired several highly skilled people with dubious pasts, and sent them in to mess with their plumbing, electricity and furniture. He also had them set up cameras so he could document the whole thing and show Harry later. He thought the kid would get a kick out of seeing his relatives so humiliated. Phase two would commence in the next few weeks or so after their daily lives had become sufficiently unsettled and unbearable.

It was just another routine day since Harry arrived. They were down in the workshop and he had almost completed the arc reactor prototype. He couldn't wait for it to be finished so he could test it out. The world was going to be in awe of his genius once they realized he had created something that could power an entire building for a year, and still be considered green energy. He just decided to take a break from the arc reactor, and was working on some upgrades to his newest suit the Mark VII. He had stepped into the back room where he kept his other suits under lock and key when he heard the door to his workshop slide open. He thought Harry must have decided to head back up to the penthouse for lunch or something but he stopped dead when he recognized a deep male voice questioning Harry.

"Who are you?" Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD and number one, one-eyed annoyance in Tony's life, demanded.

Tony moved back towards the main workshop area but stopped just shy of entering, keeping out of sight of the Director. It was too late to do anything now. Fury had seen Harry and wouldn't stop until he figured out what a kid was doing in Tony Stark's private workshop even if Tony tried to play it off like he was no one special. It was just too bizarre. Fury would know that Tony would have never let just anybody in his workshop. Tony knew Fury wasn't here because he had found out about Harry. First because he had been far too careful and second, the most obvious reason, was because Fury seemed confused about who Harry was. He would have to have words with Jarvis as to how Fury had gotten in to the building in the first place but for now he just wanted to see how this all played out.

"Harry," Harry replied looking slightly confused by Fury's appearance. Yeah, Fury really needed to work on his wardrobe. The all black leather ensemble and the eye-patch really screamed space pirate or being a part of some weird biker gang.

Fury was staring at Harry. His one eye looking him over keenly before recognition, followed swiftly by dread dawned on the super spy's face.

"Oh hell no! Stark, get your ass out here! This cannot be happening. This is a disaster waiting to happen," Fury ranted.

"Problem Director?" Tony asked casually as he walked back into the workshop. Harry was staring wide eyed at Fury, obviously not knowing how to react to the man's crazed ranting.

"What the hell is this Stark?" Fury said waving in Harry's direction.

"I believe he said his name was Harry and you should really know better than to swear in front of children, Director," Tony chided, annoyed with the way Fury was referring to Harry especially with the kid still in the room. He knew the jabs were meant to be towards Tony but Harry would no doubt take them personally.

"Don't get smart with me, Stark. Who the hell thought reproducing with you was a good idea?"

"My mum," Harry chirped, glaring at Fury.

In his head Tony applauded his cheeky courage and sent Harry a wink, which made the kid grin.

"Right, and she thought it was a good idea to leave you with the most irresponsible man on the planet?"

"My mum's dead, _sir_."

To Tony the added sir sounded like he was challenging Fury. It was like he said 'take that and shove it where the sun don't shine you one-eyed idiot'. For a minute Fury looked a little flabbergasted by Harry's snappy response. Tony could relate. The kid had this whole wide-eyed innocent look but he had courage and spunk. But Fury wasn't the Director of SHIELD for nothing and he wouldn't be intimidated by an eleven year old. He quickly arranged his face back into his stoic mask.

"Why wasn't I informed about this development?" Fury demanded.

"Contrary to your beliefs, SHIELD does not run my life and they do not need to know about the intricate details of it," Tony sniped, he was still angry over their meddling even if they had inadvertently saved his life, and Fury's attitude towards Harry was really irking him. He made it seem like Tony was some wild maniac who was completely incapable of taking care of a kid. His reaction brought up all the old fears of him being incapable of raising Harry.

"In the past you've proven that you need someone to look after you," replied Fury not in the least concerned by Tony's anger.

"What do you want Fury? Besides coming here and criticizing me on whether or not I am allowed to procreate?" Tony demanded.

"It's confidential," Fury snapped back, tossing a look towards Harry.

"Harry, kiddo, why don't you head upstairs? I'll be up in a moment okay? Right after I deal with the mean and nasty pirate," Tony told him.

"Okay," Harry said still glaring at Fury for insulting his mother.

He turned on his heel and stalked from the room. For a moment the lights in the workshop flickered before settling back down. Tony frowned. There must have been something wrong with the wiring. He would have to look into it later after dealing with Fury, and explaining to Harry just who Fury was.

"How long have you known about him?" Fury asked the moment Harry was gone.

"Three weeks Director. And I really don't appreciate you saying those things it front of him. It was a bit unnecessary," Tony said casually while inside he was still stewing.

"You're lecturing me on propriety?" Fury demanded. "That's rich Stark considering your behavior a couple months ago."

"You didn't need to make him feel like he was some sort of strange anomaly for being my son. He's just a kid," growled Tony.

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't be anywhere near him. No offense Stark, but you're not exactly kid friendly or the responsible type. You're great with computers and mechanics. But are you even capable of keeping a goldfish alive? Let alone another human being."

Tony snorted. He knew that was as close to an apology as he was going to get from the super spy. "I'm doing just fine with Harry, Fury. It's been three weeks and the kid is still alive and fully functional. Just tell me why you're here since it wasn't to discuss the fact that I have managed to reproduce."

"Why have you been hacking SHIELD Stark?"

Tony put on a blank expression. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap, Stark. You've been looking through top-secret programs that you have no right even knowing about. It needs to stop."

"I've just been making sure you haven't found out about Harry. Okay? You're security systems aren't exactly the best but you do have some pretty good spies. Basically that means you're good at acquiring information but not good at keeping it a secret. I don't want anyone knowing about Harry, Director. Not even you."

"The only people we can't seem to keep information from is you. And why are you so worried about people knowing about the kid?" Fury questioned.

"Hello? Billionaire? Iron Man? Any of these ringing any bells, Director? There are people out there who would jump at the chance to get their hands on Tony Stark's kid and use him against me," Tony giving him his patented duh look that Harry had inherited from him.

These were things that Tony was actually terrified about. Harry's life would be at risk if people found out he had a kid. He knew he would guard Harry with all the resources he had at his disposal but he knew there would always be a slight chance that something could happen. Tony had thought himself safe, and look what had happened to him. He had been kidnapped by terrorists who wanted him to build weapons for them. He could only imagine what someone desperate enough would do to Harry to get him to cooperate. Harry was a weakness now, and he had to make sure to do whatever he could to protect him.

"You have to know that SHIELD would never let anything like that happen to your son, Stark. We protect our interests," said Fury looking insulted even at the mere mention of SHIELD not being able to do something.

"Right, but I'm not really of interest anymore am I? Not since you scrapped me for the Avengers Initiative," said Tony. He was only a little disappointed at being declined. After all he worked much better alone.

"You'll always be of interest to us, Stark," said Fury a hint of threat in his tone.

"You mean the bad kind of interest, don't you? Less of a sweet, high school crush and more of a stalker with a shrine in the closet, right? Because you're afraid of what would happen if I ever turned against you," Tony was slightly amused that he could make SHIELD uncomfortable.

"Don't push me, Stark."

"You know my tech outclasses yours and that if I really wanted to I could probably become the next supreme overlord of the planet. Hmmm Emperor Tony. Has a nice ring to it don't you think, Director? I wouldn't mind the bowing and scraping. And look, now I have Harry to continue my dynasty. It'll be a never ending rule of Starks."

"Stark…"

"Honestly, Fury, you have nothing to worry about. Just stay out of my life and you won't ever have to worry about any trouble from me. Pinkie swear."

"Don't count on that Stark. There may be a time when we do actually need you. Will you be prepared to meet that challenge? Can you take up a fight that has nothing to do with you? Cause so far all you've ever used that suit for are problems you've created for yourself or for your own personal gain," said Fury.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see Director," said Tony in a jibbing tone.

"I guess we will. Good luck with the kid, Tony. Try to do by right him or find him a better home. I'll keep him out of SHIELD's database for now as a favor for the kid, not you. The less people who know about him the better. And for god's sake stop hacking SHIELD, Stark! I'm going to end up having Natasha come and kick your sorry ass, and that's something you definitely don't want your kid to see," Fury said as he stalked from the room muttering about the downfall of humanity due to Starks multiplying.

Tony sat down at his workbench feeling a bit overwhelmed. He was surprised by the surge of protectiveness he had felt when Fury started going after Harry. He was also surprised just how much he wanted to prove Fury wrong, and that he could be a good father to Harry. Maybe that's what the one-eyed bastard wanted in the first place; to push Tony and test him to make sure he did treat him well. Or maybe he was just being an ass. Tony was going with the latter because he didn't like the one-eyed Director throwing his own concerns back in his face.

Tony would never admit it but he was terrified of failing Harry. He was so scared that he was going to completely screw up Harry's life. He could barely focus on the fact that he was a father. Even thinking it still terrified him. Tony didn't want to end up like his own father but at the same time he was worried that taking an active part in Harry's life would be even worse. He wasn't the best of role models despite the image of himself he'd portrayed to Harry. He didn't want Harry to hate him. He was afraid to let himself care about him, to become too attached because he wasn't sure if he would even be able to succeed in being a father. Being a dad and allowing himself to care left him open and vulnerable, something he really didn't care for. So he tried not to think about his fears, and focused on areas of Harry's life that he could discover and control.

Tony should have known that hacking SHIELD so often would bring their attention eventually but he was desperately looking for information on the school that Harry went to. He knew it existed. His friend Hermione was certainly real and when he had first looked her up it showed the same gap in her own education as Harry's. She declined an acceptance letter from a very prestigious school in Britain in favor of this other school. But there were no records of where she ended up going, only a short note that she had chosen some other gifted school instead. So it definitely existed somewhere, there was just no way for him to track it online. He'd used satellites to try and track down possible locations for it but so far he'd found nothing that fit the profile.

It also sparked a memory for him when he noticed that Hermione Granger had declined her invitation to the prestigious school right after she turned eleven. He had never been able to track down Lily's school records after the age of eleven, the age both Harry and Hermione were when they first would have attended this school. So the logical conclusion was that Lily had gone to this school too. But the sister hadn't, and Harry's cousin hadn't so why had Lily and Harry? Why did this Hermione girl go? There was also the strange term that Hermione had used to describe her summer tutor. At first he wrote it off to be some British slang word but the more he thought about it the more unlikely it seemed. He looked up the term but couldn't find a meaning for it. And why would she need a 'muggle' tutor in the summer? What wasn't she learning at this school that she needed a tutor in the summer? It was a strange pattern, one that Tony was having trouble solving on his own.

Still feeling a bit frustrated over his meeting with Fury, and his lack of answers with Harry he went back up to the penthouse. He found Harry washing the dishes he'd left in the sink. Tony suddenly realized that it must have been Harry who had been doing all his dishes for him. He had thought Pepper had hired a cleaning lady without telling him or she had told him and he just hadn't been paying attention. Watching the practiced way Harry cleaned the dishes, he knew now it had been him the whole time. How had this escaped his notice? Why would he decide to do this? Did he feel like he needed to do this to earn Tony's affections? Either way it made Tony angry. No eleven year old boy should be that good at washing the dishes.

"Harry you don't have to do that," Tony barked at him.

Harry startled and turned around to face him. "That's okay Tony. I want to help out and I used to do it all the time at the Dursleys."

"You don't need to help out okay. I'm not like you're aunt and uncle. I don't expect you to clean up after me. I pay people for that," Tony said moving forward to snatch the plate from Harry's hand and tossing it into the sink with a loud clang.

"What do you mean?" questioned Harry nervously.

Tony instantly felt guilty. He didn't mean to scare the kid but he was just so tired of tiptoeing around it. He wanted to know the truth. It was obviously worse than what he thought if Harry was so good at cleaning. He also mentioned that he knew how to cook. What had the Dursleys done? Made him their live-in maid? The thought sparked a hot rage inside Tony.

"I know what they did, Harry. I know how your relatives treated you. I know everything," Tony said. Maybe if Harry thought he already knew everything he'd be more willing to explain it all to him.

Harry looked stricken. "I didn't want you to find out. I don't want anyone to find out."

"It's okay, no one else needs to know. I don't care about what happened, just talk to me kiddo."

"I don't want to talk about it," said Harry stubbornly.

"Harry, it's fine all right. Just tell me what happened," Tony demanded trying to hold on to his patience. It wasn't Harry's fault that the Dursleys were cruel bastards but it was so hard that the kid was so stubborn in keeping it a secret. He didn't understand why he was so against it. He was away from those horrible people there was nothing they could do to stop him from telling people the truth now.

"You already know. Why do I have to tell you again?" Harry said glaring at him much like he had been glaring at Fury earlier.

"I want to hear it from you."

"Why? Why do you need to hear about my horrible life with the Dursleys?" Harry suddenly raged, surprising Tony since he'd never heard the kid raise his voice.

"I just want to help you, Harry. What they did to you wasn't right."

"Then how come no one ever did anything to stop it? The teachers, the neighbors. No one ever said a word about how wrong it was. They just all hated me, and thought I was a freak and I didn't know why. A part me even began to believe that there was something wrong with me," Harry cried.

"They were idiots. There's nothing wrong with you, okay? Absolutely nothing," Tony growled.

"Then why did they hate me?" Harry demanded and the tears in his eyes were filled with more emotion than Tony capable of deal with.

"They were supposed to love me, Tony. They were my relatives and they were supposed to care for me. Why did they make me sleep in a cupboard under the stairs? Why did they want me dead? Why was it that no matter how hard I tried to impress them I was never good enough for them?" Harry questioned half sobbing now.

Tony could only feel the blood drain from his face at Harry's admission. He wasn't even close to having any answers to those types of questions. But it seemed he wasn't required to because Harry wasn't even close to being done with his confession.

"They treated me like I was freeloader and that I owed everything to them. They made me earn my keep since so that I could pay them back for their so-called generosity. They made me do all the cleaning and cooking and even the yard work while Dudley didn't have to do anything. They told me my parents died in car crash because they were drunks and burdens to society and that I was just like them. I never got to have a birthday party and they would lock me in my cupboard whenever Dudley had one. I had to watch through the cracks while he got cake and presents, and played with his friends. The first Christmas present they ever got me was just this year. Do you know what it was? It was a fifty pence piece," Harry snarled.

"The only good thing I had was school. But they even took that away from me by telling all the teachers I was disturbed so they would never believe me when I told them about how Dudley and his gang used to chase me and beat me up. Harry Hunting they called it. They made a game of it and there was nothing I could do about it. Dudley even chased away anyone else who even tried to be my friend. I was all-alone, all the time. I couldn't even do well in my classes or else Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would punish me by locking me in my cupboard or giving me scraps from meals I cooked for them. They never took me anywhere. I had to stay with Mrs. Figgs down the street while they got to go on vacations. Because I'm a freak and freaks aren't allowed to do things like normal people. Is that what you wanted to hear Tony? You wanted me to tell you what I've never told anyone else so congratulations," Harry finally gasped out breathing hard, the tears in his luminous green eyes filling and pouring over and down his cheeks.

Tony could only stare at him in stunned silence. For once in his life he was at a loss for words.

"I didn't realize, I didn't know," Tony finally managed to croak out.

He'd made a lot of assumptions based on what he'd found while digging up dirt on the Dursleys, and what he'd observed of Harry's interactions with them in the lobby and the lab. But it was so much harder to hear it from Harry. To hear him tell him about just how cruel they had been to him and just how much it had affected him, it really got to Tony. He also never would have guessed that they had practically treated him like a slave, that they made him live in a cupboard, and that they had actually never given him a single scrap of affection. These were things that stunned him to his core, and made him sick to think about. Harry kept it so well hidden. He acted like a normal kid albeit more cautious and a bit distant but he doubted few would ever guess he was hiding such a huge secret. He was so guarded with his secret that if Tony hadn't pushed so hard he doubted he would have ever known the whole truth.

"You just told me that you knew everything," Harry cried in outrage.

"I knew about most of it. But not the cupboard part or the cleaning and cooking part. They really kept you locked in a cupboard?" Tony demanded in pure disbelief so sad and so very, very angry at the Dursleys.

"You tricked me! You lied to me so I would tell you! I hate you! It's your fault I had to live with them. If you had cared more about my mum maybe she would have told you the truth and then she wouldn't have died and I could have grown up with her instead of with the Dursleys," Harry shouted and to Tony's shock all of the lights, screens and other electrical devices suddenly exploded in a shower of sparks.

Tony was momentarily shocked by the occurrence, and stood firmly rooted to the floor in the midst of the explosion. Harry too looked equally stunned and frightened. His face, which had been flushed red with anger, was suddenly a pale, ghostly white.

"Harry? Are you all right?" Tony questioned taking a step towards him afraid he might have been hit or something. "Jarvis report on the damage. Jarvis report? Jarvis?" He tried again when there was no response. There must have been some strange electrical surge. It was no problem the back up systems should kick on any moment.

"I did it," said Harry staring him straight in the eyes still looking a little queasy.

"You did what?" Tony asked in confusion.

"I made everything explode with my accidental magic," said Harry softly.

"Harry, we already talked about this. There's no such thing as magic. Okay? This isn't the time to fool around something could have gone seriously wrong with the system," he was worried because the back up should have kicked on by now. Did someone deliberately hack him?

"I'm not fooling around. I'm a wizard, Tony. Whether you believe it or not," snapped Harry.

"You're _not_ a wizard, Harry," Tony said in annoyance, trying to get Jarvis back online from his phone. But strangely enough that too was destroyed.

"I am a wizard. I go to a magical school called Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have a wand and a flying broom and books full of magical spells. My mum was a witch, and she and James Potter died fighting a dark wizard called Voldemort. Who tried to kill me but failed, James Potter died to protect my mum and I from Voldemort. And I wish that he was my real father and not you," Harry hissed coldly.

Tony's entire world was shaken by his words and tone. He was once more at a loss for words as Harry glared fiercely at him. Then he turned on his heel and headed towards his bedroom. "Oh and I can talk to snakes!"

"Harry?" Tony called after him but his voice was barely above a whisper.

He didn't respond and Tony heard his bedroom door slam shut. Tony knew he should go after him but he couldn't. One he couldn't move, and two he was still too angry about the Dursleys. He wouldn't be in the right state of mind to hold a civil conversation with the angry eleven year old. Maybe he was also a bit terrified of the prospect of facing Harry right now. He was normally so happy and easygoing it was shocking to see him so angry. Of course he had every right to be but still Tony didn't have any idea about how to deal with it. He could barely deal with his own emotions right now, he wasn't sure how he could go about sorting out the emotions of someone else.

He staggered onto the couch, his legs were shaky, and he felt strangely lightheaded. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this horrible. He didn't think he'd even felt this bad when he had been actually dying. Hearing that his kid had been abused in such a horrible way was shocking enough. But then hearing that his kid hated him and wished that someone else was his father was a huge blow. Tony hadn't been expecting the words to hurt as much as they did. It felt like someone had literally ripped the arc reactor right out of his chest and let the shrapnel pierce his heart. Things had been going so well and that's what had made this sudden, unexpected fight so much more difficult to deal with. Why hadn't he listened to Pepper and waited for Harry to come to him in his own way? He'd ruined everything. Fury was right he wasn't cut out to take care of a kid.

And he wasn't even going to address the issue of Harry believing he was a wizard and that Lily was a witch. But it did still make him think. He remembered when Harry had left the workshop earlier while he'd been angry at Fury how the lights had flickered, and just now some sort of surge dismantled every single electrical device in the radius of the penthouse even his cell phone. The only thing not affected had been the arc reactor but that wasn't really electricity. The question was: how did Harry make it happen? Harry seemed to think it was because he was a wizard. He said the mysterious school he went to was a magical school. Tony couldn't believe that. He could believe that Harry might be some sort of telepath with the ability to control and manipulate energy at a certain frequency level. It was much more probable than a wand waving wizard.

He shook himself. He could think about the logistics of that later because honestly he couldn't even fathom that there might be some truth to it. Right now he should really be thinking about how he could make things up with Harry. Was it even possible at this point? He cared about Harry more than he thought he would ever be capable of but he was at a loss. For once in his life he had no idea what he should do. Harry's life was so much worse than he imagined and having Harry hate him left him feeling desolate and uncertain. Maybe he really wasn't cut out to be a father. He'd obviously done a piss poor job so far to completely alienate him in such a spectacular manner. His own father should be proud. It had only taken Tony three weeks to make Harry hate him. Hell it had only taken him one day.

Tony was sure that he had never felt more like crying than in that moment. He was really beginning to like Harry and now he had ruined it. It was his worst fear come to life. He had thought of his own wants and needs before Harry's. That's what it boiled down to. Tony hadn't wanted to wait to find out the truth about Harry's past so he pushed and pushed regardless of how forcing him to reveal those truths would affect Harry. Maybe Harry would be better off with someone else. Someone who could be understanding and gentle and sentimental. Someone who could actually help him overcome all the horrible things that had happened to him. Because Tony clearly wasn't cut out for it. He had enough trouble dealing with his own problems. He really couldn't do this.

With that thought in mind he got into his liquor cabinet and proceeded to get drunk because obviously he had the emotional coping skills of a two-year, and he was incapable of dealing with this situation. It was all a blur after that.

"Tony," he felt someone poking him.

"Five more minutes, Pepper," he murmured.

"Tony!" Pepper shrieked and shoved him off the couch.

He fell to the floor with a thud. It made the throbbing in his head so much worse and the room was spinning. He lifted his head and opened eyes.

"Nope," he breathed and closed his eyes tightly shut once more against the pain the morning sunlight caused him.

"What the hell are you doing? Why the hell are you hung over Tony? Why weren't you answering your cellphone? I've been trying to get ahold of you and Harry for hours. I flew all the way back from my meeting because I was worried about the two of you… And why is nothing working in the living room?" Pepper demanded not allowing him to wallow in his misery.

That caught his attention. He vaguely remembered something. Then like the sudden sting of a slap in the face he remembered everything that had happened. Fury had stopped by, and then he and Harry had a fight to end all fights. Well it was more like Harry handed him a spectacular ass chewing, which had certainly been within his rights to do so. Tony had then proceeded to get drunk, very drunk to forget about said ass chewing and about how horrible Harry's declaration of hate had made him feel.

He groaned loudly. He really wished it had all been some horrible nightmare. Unfortunately he had never been that lucky.

"He hates me, Pepper," Tony said, still unable to pick his head from the carpet. He deserved to spend the rest of his life lying on this carpet, in pain for what a shitty father he turned out to be.

"Who? Harry? What happened Tony? I haven't seen you like this since you thought were dying. In fact I think you looked better when you thought you were dying," she said crouching down beside him to peek at him in concern.

"I'm an asshole. I did exactly what you told me not to do. Harry got mad and told me about how he had to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. And that he thinks he's a wizard. And that he wishes James Potter was his real father and not me." The last part was almost whispered since it was still painful for Tony to even contemplate.

"What did you do?" Pepper demanded, a fierce, angry expression on her face.

"I made him tell me about the Dursleys. I pushed him when I should of left him alone. Then everything exploded, literally, exploded like the lights and everything, and he stomped to his room after telling me he could talk to snakes. Then I got drunk instead of talking to him because Fury was right I shouldn't have been allowed to reproduce or care for a kid when I probably couldn't even care for a goldfish," Tony rambled.

"You forced Harry to tell you about how the Dursleys treated him. He, understandably, got mad and went to his room after some sort explosion knocked out all the power in the penthouse living room. Then instead of trying to fix the situation with Harry or apologize like a reasonable person would do, you got drunk and left Harry to his own devices, is that about right?" Pepper asked sounding dangerous.

Tony nodded, not even bothering to lift his head up from the rug. He knew her expression would be murderous. He was well aware he was a dead man and he wouldn't even try to stop her from whatever form of punishment she would dish out.

"You are an idiot. No that's not good enough. You're a selfish, moronic bastard who can't even face the problems you've created because you're too much of a spineless, pathetic wimp when it comes to facing your emotional problems. I can't believe you would do something like this, Tony."

"I know, I've ruined everything with him."

"You should have gone after him, Tony. At least tried to fix things. He probably feels like you don't even care about him, Tony," Pepper reasoned.

"I don't think he cares about what I think. You didn't hear the way he sounded when he told me he hated me and wished I wasn't his father," Tony said.

"Tony I know you like to act like nothing bothers you and that you're this indestructible force, and you like to hold your emotions inside. But I know how much finding out about Harry has affected you. I know how terrified you are of doing something wrong. But doing nothing in a situation like this is worse than if you had at least tried to work things out. I know you're worried about being your father. But you're not him, Tony. You were doing great up until today. You and Harry were really making a connection. We'll work this out, but you have to _try_ Tony you can't just give up when you hit a rough patch. Parenting is a full time job and unfortunately you can't just quit or give it up whenever you feel like it or because you're afraid. So man up and take responsibility for once in your life. Now I'm going to check on Harry. Then you and I are going to sit down and have a little chat."

He listened as she got up and headed towards the bedrooms. He deserved whatever torture Pepper could think up for him. But her words struck a cord in him. She was right he couldn't just give up. He had another person depending on him now for their every need, and while that was completely overwhelming and he didn't want anything to do with it he knew he needed to do it. He wanted to do it because whether Harry liked it or not he was his father for better or worse and they would have to learn to live with one another. He was still terrified that he would screw things up but he knew he at least had to try to do better.

"Tony! Harry's not his room, or bathroom or any of the other bedrooms," Pepper cried racing back into the living room.

That made Tony sit up. "Call security we'll have them secure the building and check all the rooms."

"His trunk was open and it was almost empty. It also looked like he packed some of his clothes in a hurry. I think he's run away Tony. Harry is alone somewhere in New York City. And who knows how long he's been out there. Your fight happened yesterday and it is officially eight am the next morning so he could have possibly been gone all night. Something horrible could have happened to him. This is an unfamiliar city with unfamiliar people," Pepper said looking more stressed out than he had ever seen her before.

Tony felt himself pale. Then jumped to his feet despite the insistence of his body telling him not to.

"Did he take his robot?" Tony demanded.

"I… what does it matter? Harry's missing, Tony," Pepper cried.

"Did he or didn't he, Pepper?"

"Yes, I think so, it wasn't in his room," she finally snapped.

"Good, then I can find him." He raced towards the elevator.

"What are you going to do, Tony?" Pepper demanded.

"I'm going to find my son," Tony stated simply.

Once in the elevator he was able to get in touch with Jarvis and have him prepare his suit. It seemed whatever power outage had happened only affected everything in the penthouse living room; the rest of the building was in perfect working order. But he'd think about that later. He suited up in a matter of moments and shot out of the specially designed emergency exit. He shot off through the air and had Jarvis pull up the GPS tracking system he'd installed in Harry's robot so that he could keep on eye on where Harry went with it.

Jarvis locked on the robot's location and he crossed his fingers in hopes that Harry would be there too. He'd never felt this terrified before in his life. He'd also never before hated himself as much as he did right now.

"Jarvis full power to the thrusters," he commanded.

"Right away, sir," Jarvis responded promptly.

"Please be all right. I promise to do better. Just let him be all right," Tony murmured to himself as he flew as fast as he could towards his destination.

* * *

**So Tony has finally found out about magic but he doesn't believe it. That will change very soon. Sorry for the angsty chapter but the blow up needed to happen as a wake up call to Tony.**** Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and to anyone who followed or favorited :) Chapters 6 and 7 have been written and need to be edited so I won't leave you in suspense for too long.**


	6. Phil's-osophies

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Avengers. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 6: Phil's-osophies**

Harry had never been quite as angry or upset as he was in that moment after his fight with Tony. It felt like yet again his world was crumbling before his very eyes. He was beginning to really like Tony. But then he'd proven that he was just like all the other adults in Harry's life, and he couldn't trust him. Harry had never really had any positive experiences with adults; they always seemed to let him down in the end. He was almost more upset with himself because for moment he had had hope that this time things would be different that things would finally get better, and he would have a real family.

Tony had lied to him. Made him think that he already knew about the Dursleys so that Harry would tell him everything. Harry never talked about the Dursleys. He just never saw the point in complaining about something that had always been a part of his life. He knew on some level that what they had done wasn't right, and yes when he really thought about it, it filled him with a blinding anger and resentment over their treatment. But he could ignore it to a certain degree, and move on because he knew that one day he would be free of them. The Dursleys just really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things especially once he discovered that he was a wizard. It had made their treatment more bearable. He understood they were hateful and bitter. But when he had been younger he had cried, and wished that they would love him or show him affection. He learned soon enough that they never would, and so he got over it. He moved on, and tried to focus on other aspects of his life. But there was still a part of him that yearned to have the type of family that he saw other kids have.

Finding Tony had given him the hope that he might actually have a family. Tony actually seemed to like him and want him around. Pepper also seemed to feel the same way. Both of their attention and affection was more than he thought he would ever receive in regards to parental affection. He had really begun to enjoy it. Now he felt like any hopes or dreams he may have had in regards to having a family were ruined beyond repair.

He shouldn't have said all those hateful things to Tony; he didn't really even mean them. Harry had been so angry with Tony, and he had wanted to hurt him as much as Tony had hurt him. But after the initial burst of anger he'd been terrified about what Tony's reactions to Harry's hateful words would be. He had just wanted to get away from him. He wanted to hide from him, and the hate that Tony would no doubt feel for him now. He couldn't deal with the rejection that would so obviously come from his father after yelling at him. So he had packed a bag with all of the essentials, and he'd slipped into the lift and out of the building without anyone being the wiser. Hedwig had followed him from street lamp to street lamp as he walked through the busy streets, watching over him. It was still relatively early afternoon, so for the first couple of hours he'd just wandered aimlessly around the city. Then before long he found himself in Central Park. It was very nice and beautiful, and he had stopped to rest on a bench. Hedwig settled in a tree branch close by to keep an eye on him, which he was grateful for. At least he could always count on her.

He couldn't decide what to do next. Harry knew he would eventually have to return to the tower; after all he didn't know anyone else in America or have anywhere else to go. He didn't have any money, and Tony still had custody of him that is if he still wanted him after all the horrible things he'd said. But he didn't exactly want to go back. He was angry at Tony even if he hadn't quite meant all those terrible things. In his own way he even acknowledged that Tony had just been trying to help him by prying the truth from him. He knew this relationship was as new to Tony as it was to Harry, and a part of him was regretful for running away instead of going back to try, and talk things through with Tony.

But he was afraid that he had pushed the man too far and now he wouldn't want Harry. He was worried that he had ruined his chance with Tony. He would never admit it but not being wanted was one of Harry's greatest fears. He'd been unwanted his entire life, and it made Harry's reactions to certain situations a bit extreme. He had always been punished for everything he did so in his mind he was the one who was wrong for fighting with Tony, and the man was no doubt angry about it. So even though a part of him knew that Tony was the one who was wrong he still felt like he was the one responsible, and that he should be the one to make reparations with Tony. He was just afraid that Tony wouldn't want to. Because despite his anger at him, Harry desperately still wanted his love and affection.

His train of thought was interrupted when a man sat down beside him on the bench to eat a hotdog. Harry peeked over at him. He was a businessman; Harry guessed because of the suit that he was wearing. He had short trimmed, brown hair and a high forehead, which Harry took to mean that he was balding prematurely. When he saw Harry looking he sent him a warm smile. Harry gave him a timid one in return.

"What brings you to the park today, young man? Enjoying your summer vacation?" asked the man politely.

Harry just nodded and mumbled a 'yes sir', fiddling idly with his bag.

"Hmm the shy type, that's okay. It takes all kinds to make the world go round," the man hummed and then went back to eating his hotdog.

Once he was done the two of them sat in silence for a while. Harry staring at the pigeons unseeingly, and the businessman humming a merry little tune under his breath as he leaned back in a relaxing pose on the bench. This man looked like he lived and worked in the city maybe he could give Harry a better idea of where he could find a place to sleep tonight or at the very least tell him how he could get back to Stark Tower. He'd completely lost sight of the huge building, something he hadn't thought possible. But the city was huge with buildings just as tall or taller than Stark Tower effectively hiding it.

"I'm Harry," he greeted.

"Harry…?" the man questioned looking for a last name.

"Just Harry," Harry replied firmly, as far as he was concerned, at the moment, he didn't have a last name.

"Okay Just Harry. I'm Phil," the man, Phil, greeted extending his hand for him to shake.

"Do you live around here?" Harry asked, shyly shaking his hand.

"I'm here on business actually. I travel a lot for business but I'm pretty familiar with the city. I take it you're new to the area," said Phil no doubt noticing his accent. He seemed to be the observant type.

"Yeah, I've only been here for a couple of weeks. Since you're familiar with the city do you think you could tell me a little bit more about it? I'm a little lost," Harry hedged.

"Of course, I would love to. But shouldn't you be going around visiting the city with your parents?" Phil asked his brow creasing with concern.

"My mum died and my father well, we had a fight," Harry admitted in a rush. He wasn't sure why he told him. There was just something so gentle in the man's eyes, and despite his vow to be more careful in trusting adults he found himself trusting Phil and his calm, soothing presence.

"Ah, so you ran away," Phil said knowingly.

"Yes," Harry said simply even though the man hadn't actually asked him a question.

"That doesn't seem like such a good move especially in a big city like this that you aren't familiar with," Phil commented, but not sounding at all judgmental.

"I just had to get away. You see, my dad hates me now," Harry told him, feeling sorry for himself.

"Why would you think that?" Phil questioned in concern.

"Because I told him that I hated him," replied Harry.

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you. Things can often be said in the heat of the moment that we don't really mean. Besides you shouldn't just runaway from your problems. That won't ever solve anything," said Phil wisely.

"Yeah, I guess. But I was so angry at him. I'm still mad at him for what he did. I don't know if I can ever forgive him. Or if he can ever forgive me. I just don't trust adults. You can never depend on them," Harry said, forgetting for a moment that Phil was actually an adult.

Phil looked at him for a long time before he seemed to reach some sort of decision. "I'll be honest with you, Harry, my boss won't like it but I think you deserve to hear the truth. I work for SHIELD. I believe you met my boss earlier today. He was wearing an eye patch and a long black leather coat, and he came to speak with Tony. You see, SHIELD is a secret government security agency that watches, and protects people. It pays special attention to the more unique individuals in our world. Ones that can become potential threats or potential allies. We look into them and protect them or take them out, whatever is necessary. I know who Tony is and who you are. My boss, Nick Fury the Director of SHIELD, asked me to watch out for you and your dad for a while after meeting with Tony today. When I saw you leave Stark Tower by yourself shortly after the meeting, carrying a backpack; I realized what you were doing. I followed you to keep you safe, and see where you were going. I sat down next to you to find out why you had run away, and to make sure that you were all right."

Harry sat in silence for a moment. This man said he was some sort of spy whose job it was to protect Tony, and by extension watch over him as well. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. But for some odd reason despite his outlandish claim Harry's gut told him that he could trust him, and that he was telling him the truth. It was strange to have someone whose job it was to look after Harry. His whole life he'd been the only one there was to look after himself. At least the man had come clean to him. Harry really appreciated his honesty if nothing else.

"For what it's worth, I think you can trust Tony. Sometimes he may not seem like the most caring or upstanding guy but when the chips are down I think he's really the type to pull through," Phil commented.

"He tricked me into telling him about my relatives," Harry said sourly.

"Why would he have to trick you into to telling him about your relatives?" Phil asked, his eyes keenly assessing Harry.

"Because of something they did," said Harry with a shrug, avoiding eye contact. There was no way he was going to tell Phil anymore than that. He was through discussing the Dursleys. He never wanted to even think about them again.

"Maybe he was just concerned about your wellbeing?"

"He was prying," Harry snapped, his anger flaring at the memory.

"This thing with your relatives has obviously affected you for you to be so defensive about them. And maybe Tony went about things the wrong way but maybe he didn't know how else to bring them up when they so obviously bother you," Phil commented mildly not at all put off by Harry's angry outburst.

Harry shrugged. It was less about the Dursleys to him, and more about Tony betraying Harry's trust by tricking him into telling him about them.

"So tell me more about SHIELD. What do you do exactly?" Harry asked after a moment of silence. He didn't want to talk about the fight or Tony anymore, and he couldn't help but wonder if SHIELD knew about the wizarding world. If they watched over unique people then witches and wizards certainly fell under that category.

"SHIELD actually stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. We are security for the country and in part the world. We try to protect the world from threats that they aren't quite ready to deal with just yet."

"What do you mean by that? What sorts of threats aren't they able to deal with?"

"Well, for one, weapons like Tony builds. They're so far beyond anything anyone else could create right now that if he ever decided to turn against the world, not that he would of course, he could become a real danger. But if he did for example decide to go rogue we would be the ones to put a stop him. We have a lot of resources at our disposal, and some of the best people in the world working for us. For the most part, though, we are a spy organization. We do a lot of observing and information gathering. We only step in when the situation looks like it's going to get people hurt. It's a job that's never boring, and I've seen my share of amazing things. Just a few months ago I was called down to New Mexico where someone from another world had crash landed."

"Another world? Like an alien from outer space? How is that possible?" Harry gaped in astonishment. He hadn't even thought something like was possible. But he really shouldn't disregard anything as impossible; after all he was a wizard.

"Do you know anything about Norse Mythology?" Phil asked.

"A little," Harry nodded.

"Well, it was Thor, the God of Thunder himself who came to Earth all the way from the realm of Asgard. His father sent him here as a punishment without any of his powers to teach him a lesson when he almost started a war," Phil explained.

"A god? Really?" Harry asked, a bit skeptical. Although, he really shouldn't be, considering all the things he had seen. Three headed dogs and centaurs were creatures right out of tales from Greek Mythology so why shouldn't other mythological stories be true as well?

"Well, we're not quite sure if they're real gods but they're pretty darn close compared to us. They're stronger than us, they have powers we can't really comprehend, and they're very close to being immortal. I saw with my own eyes Thor whip up of a thunder storm once he got his powers back," Phil said, his eyes far away obviously reliving whatever he had seen.

"Wicked," said Harry his mind whirling with the thought that there were whole other worlds out there. He would have loved to meet Thor or one of the other Norse Gods. He wondered if they could do magic like wizards and witches could or if what they could do was something else entirely.

"It was indeed," Phil said with a genuine smile.

"So what happened? Why did Thor have to whip up a thunderstorm?" Harry asked.

Phil animatedly launched into a story about how Thor had been cast out of Asgard, and how he had to prove himself to be worthy of using his hammer, Mjolnir, again and regain his powers. But while he had been doing that his brother Loki was plotting against him. He'd sent some robot to destroy Thor but Thor sacrificed himself for his friends, and got his powers back. He had gone back to Asgard to deal with his brother, and SHIELD hadn't seen the Asgardian since. Harry listened to the story with avid interest already dreaming up possible ways of how he could get to Asgard to meet them.

"So what other sorts of things has SHIELD had to deal with?" Harry asked. If they had discovered a whole other world then it was quite probable that they had discovered the wizarding world that hid along side their own.

"Well, if you're referring to the wizarding world, we try to stay out of their affairs as much as possible. Unless of course it starts to affect the general public. Then we would have to get involved. But since we've known about their existence they've been able to successfully handle any problems that have popped up on their own," Phil gave a smile at Harry's flabbergasted expression.

"So you do know about wizards? Did you know I was a wizard?" Harry demanded in shock.

"I received a notice from the American Wizarding Government while I was following you that let me know that a minor had caused a large disturbance with their accidental magic, which may garner muggle attention in a location I currently was looking after. They gave me the curtsey of looking into the matter for myself. This isn't something they normally would do because accidental magic isn't something that SHIELD is required to look into but I am a special case. I'm a liaison between SHIELD, and the American wizarding world. I grew up in the wizarding world, and I am quite familiar with it because I'm squib," Phil explained.

"What's a squib?" Harry asked in confusion. It was a term he was quite unfamiliar with, and it made him realize just how much he didn't know about the wizarding world and its customs. He barely knew anything about the British wizarding world. Considering the differences between muggle Britain and muggle America it was safe to assume that there may be some small differences between wizarding Britain and wizarding America as well.

"A squib is the opposite of a muggleborn. I have two magical parents but I myself can't use magic," Phil said calmly.

Harry could only gape at him in amazement. He hadn't even thought such a thing could be possible. But it sounded absolutely terrible. Magic was so wonderful in Harry's eyes that he couldn't imagine the horror of growing up surrounded by it but being unable to use it.

"I'm sorry," Harry murmured feeling guilty, and sorry for Phil.

"Oh don't be. I enjoy my job with SHIELD. I've seen things and done things that I certainly never would have gotten the chance to do if it hadn't been for my lack of magic. It made me branch out more into the muggle world. I worked my way into SHIELD, and got myself a good position as a high-ranking agent. Once there I was able to bring the magical world to SHIELD's attention, and open the magical worlds eyes' to the ever-growing influence and skills that muggles possess. I've been able to help both sides come together and form a solid truce between them. SHIELD has only been around for a couple of decades, but it is a solidly growing force in the world, and the cooperation between SHIELD and the magical world has been very beneficial for both sides."

"So Tony doesn't know about the magical, right?" Harry asked just to be sure. Harry didn't think he did since he was adamant that Harry wasn't a wizard but Tony seemed to know Director Fury fairly well.

"No, despite the fact that Tony regularly hacks SHIELD's database he doesn't know anything about it. Only Fury, myself, and a few specially selected others know about the actual existence of the magical world due to the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy, which is a law that all wizards in the world are required to follow. Only top elected officials in muggle governments are allowed to know about the wizarding world in the event that there is some type of emergency that has to be covered up. It was a pretty big concession to get them to inform SHIELD. But in the end they realized that having SHIELD's trust is a much better option than keeping them in the dark considering they would have found out on their own sooner or later. This way we can all work together and learn from each other. For example SHIELD teaches the wizarding world about new technologies so that they can better hide themselves from the general public, and wizards offer themselves up for study purposes so that they can learn about the origin of their abilities."

"But isn't magic difficult to study for muggles?" Harry asked a bit confused.

"Well since we've been working together we've found that there actually is a fairly close correlation between magic and science. It's a genetic ability, making it something that is passed down through bloodlines, giving them the ability to wield this type of energy or as wizards call it: magic. It's based a lot on will and intent. I could go into further detail but it would probably be best if we saved it for another day. We should really be focusing on what your plans are for the future."

"I don't know if I want to go back to Stark Tower," Harry said mulishly.

"Understandable, but where else are you going to go? You should really think about going back to the tower and talking with Tony. He's probably very worried about you."

Harry shrugged noncommittally. Tony probably never wanted to see Harry again. But now after talking with Phil, Harry couldn't help but feel he had overreacted just a bit. Yes, he was thoroughly angered by what Tony had done, and he was a lot more cautious about trusting Tony but he still wanted to be a family with Tony. Maybe he was naïve or too desperate for Tony's affection but everyone deserved a second chance, right? This was all new for Tony and he was trying. Just because they had one fight didn't mean it was over. He should talk to Tony. But at the moment he still needed a little time to cool off and really think things through. After all, this was an extremely important decision that would affect his future relationship with his father.

"Would you like to come back to SHIELD's New York base for a little while, and think things through?" Phil prompted.

Harry immediately perked up, and nodded his head eagerly.

"All right, Fury is going to kill me for this but we really can't stay on this bench forever. It's never a good idea to stay in the public eye, in one place for too long. You never know who might notice you, and give your location away to your enemies," Phil said climbing to his feet and scanning the area with a critical, experienced gaze.

"Can you tell me more about the American wizarding world?" Harry asked, excited that he was going to get to learn more about SHIELD.

"Of course," Phil agreed easily.

"Do they have hidden streets like Diagon Alley?"

"You bet, one of the most popular streets is located here in New York City. Maybe we can stop by it before we head back to the base. Would you like to do that?" Phil asked.

"Yes!" Harry said in excitement but then he thought about it for a moment. Would American wizards know who he was?

"Do American wizards know about Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"The British Dark Lord from several years back?" Phil questioned.

Harry nodded.

"I think everyone in the wizarding world has heard about him. A man so terrible that people were even afraid to say his name is sure to have a reputation throughout the wizarding world. He was a truly horrible person and incredibly insane. What he did is fairly well known especially since it only occurred about a decade ago," said Phil looking thoughtful.

"Do they know about me then?" Harry asked softly assuming that Phil would already know who he was.

"You? Why would they…? Harry. You're Harry Potter," Phil said looking mildly surprised and his gaze instantly flitted to his forehead where his scar was hidden by his bangs.

"Kind of," Harry said flushing in embarrassment.

"Of course, Tony Stark's long lost son would end up being Harry Potter. The Director is going to love this," Phil chuckled looking equal parts amused and exasperated.

"Is it a problem?" Harry snapped remembering the Director and his disrespectful thoughts towards his mother's intelligence. He wasn't overly fond of the Director from his brief meeting with him and he wondered with a pang if he should stay with Phil. But he really liked Phil. The man seemed so honest and to genuinely care about Harry's wellbeing. Besides he was providing Harry with a lot of useful information about SHIELD and the American wizarding world.

"Of course not. I doubt anyone in America would even recognize you. People have heard about you here but you're much more popular in Britain and Europe where the threat of Voldemort was much more real. And you being Tony's son is just one of those quirks of fate that will no doubt get the Director all bent out of shape. Although, I think he might want to record Tony's face when we sit him down and explain to him about the wizarding world," Phil replied calmly, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Well I kind of already told him," Harry admitted nervously.

"You told him? How did he take it?" Phil asked in surprise, looking interested in his response.

"Well I sort of shouted it at him, and he didn't really believe me even after I made the entire penthouse explode," Harry explained flushing.

"Ah, so you got angry during your fight and that's what caused your accidental magic. But Tony still didn't believe you when you told him?" Harry shook his head. Phil smiled. "I think it's going to take a lot more proof than just that one small display of magic. But don't worry I'll help you explain the truth to him. And don't worry about getting in trouble with the wizarding government. It's completely okay to tell close muggle relatives or whoever your current guardians are about magic."

"Good, I was having my friend Hermione check for me just to make sure but she hasn't been able to get back to me yet." Hermione and her parents had ended up going on holiday shortly after talking with Harry so she hadn't been able to get access to the books that she needed to find the correct information.

"Well now you know, you have nothing to worry about," Phil assured him.

"No, I just have to worry about whether Tony and I will be able to patch up our relationship," Harry murmured.

"Of course you will. Things may look bad right now, but I'm sure that you and Tony will be able to get through this. You have to look on the positive side of things. Now come on I'll take you to Horizont Alley," said Phil waving Harry up off the bench.

Harry stood and Hedwig ruffled her wings in preparation of following them.

"Do American wizards use owls?" Harry asked and Phil followed his gaze to Hedwig.

"They do but they tend to use hawks more often or even on the rare occasion eagles. The floo network is also very popular, but I believe the same could be said of British wizards." Seeing that Harry was about to question him about what the floo was he explained, "The floo is a lot like the telephone. You throw floo powder, which is made from ashwinder eggs, into the fire and you can either travel through the flames to a new location or you can simply stick your head in and speak to the person that you wish to."

"Wicked," Harry murmured trying to imagine having to stick his face in a fireplace to talk to someone. "Wizards do come up with some crazy ideas about how to keep in touch with people."

Phil smiled. "I definitely agree. Maybe once Tony's on board with the whole magic thing he can find a connection between magic and technology, and make a smoother communication method. So far no one else has been able to do it. Although, the only people we really have working on the problem are a few muggleborn wizards and witches who are also interested in muggle science. There aren't that many, though, that are knowledgeable enough in both fields of study to really make any significant breakthroughs. Again it's only really been the last couple of years that we've even had the resources to try."

"If anyone could do it, it would be Tony," Harry couldn't help but agree. If nothing else, Harry would always admire Tony for his intelligence and skills when it came to mechanical engineering.

Phil nodded his agreement. He then led Harry to a dark car with black tinted windows. The two of them got in the back seat and the driver brought them to an older part of the city with more brick buildings that were far from being skyscrapers. They stopped in front of an old pizza place called the Pizza Palace. Harry figured that it must have been like the Leaky Cauldron in London. It was a place that marked the separation between the muggle and magical world. He and Phil walked inside, and Harry knew instantly he was entering the magical world. The people inside wore robes, not quite the same style that he was used to in England but they were distinctly wizard robes. Fewer people were wearing robes however, and a lot of them seemed to be wearing more casual, muggle clothing. When Harry commented on this Phil told him that robes were considered more formal wear for American wizards, and not as many people wore them nowadays as they used to.

"American wizarding culture has been influenced a bit more by muggle culture than Europe's. There is a larger population of muggles in America and by default we have a lot more muggleborns. Of course pureblood sentiments have never been that strong here as they are in Britain. The reason for this being that wizards immigrated to America in the first place is because they were escaping the persecution, some from pureblood ideals and some from muggle religions. There is a little discontent between those who are wizard born and those who aren't but it's nowhere near as bad as in Britain," Phil said elaborating on Harry's question about clothing.

Harry couldn't help but wonder what Malfoy would have thought about America. He hated muggles and muggleborns by default. It would probably kill him to discover that being a Pureblood or muggleborn wasn't as big of a deal here. Hermione would definitely like it.

"Wizarding Britain is also much more isolated than America is and therefore it's a lot more resistant towards allowing anything muggle into the culture. America is also much larger. The population of wizarding Britain is about 15,000. In comparison the American population is about 100,000. The population is more wide spread because of the size of the country with the government being centered in New York City because it is the most densely populated area of the country. Basically this means Americans have more muggleborns and therefore there has been a greater influx of muggle influence on the culture."

"I didn't realize that there were that many wizards in the world," said Harry in surprise. But it did make sense. America had a much higher muggle population than England. It would only make sense that their wizard population would be proportionately higher as well.

Phil led him the rest of the way through the pizza shop, and out back to the dingy alleyway. Someone else was just about to go through the alleyway as well, and Harry watched with interest as they tapped the lids of a couple of garbage cans in a certain sequence with their wand. The brick wall of the alleyway swung open like a door instead of the bricks rearranging themselves like they did in the entrance of Diagon Alley, and Harry got his first good look at this new aspect of the wizarding world. Horizont Alley was just as awe inspiring as Diagon Alley had been with the feeling of magic in the air, and all the witches and wizards milling about. There was a more modern feel to it than Diagon Alley, and the shops were all nestled together in perfect, bright colorful squares; a lot like children's building blocks. Horizont Alley also looked to be far larger than Diagon Alley, and had several different streets branching off from the main thorough fair.

"Like I said this is a very popular spot for American wizards, and a lot of them travel from all over the country to get here," Phil explained as they made their way through the crowded street.

Harry noted that there were all the same shops as he was used to back in Diagon Alley they just had different names, and were run by different people. None of the shops looked quite as ancient as some of the ones in Diagon Alley but then again wizarding America had only been established for a few centuries as opposed to the many that Britain had been around for. The shops were just as filled with magic and wonder as the ones back in London. They stopped at a couple of different shops while Phil continued to point out the little differences between the cultures. It succeeded in providing him with a better understanding of wizarding Britain. He learned that American wizards used many of the same spells with some variations, and learned the same subjects in school. There were six different wizarding schools in America, the closest being Salem Academy in Salem Massachusetts. All in all there weren't that many differences beyond the fact that America was closer to their muggle counterparts.

The most interesting thing Harry learned about was probably Quodpot. He was pretty sure he remembered reading something about it in _Quidditch Through the Ages_ but he hadn't really paid that much attention to it since at the time he'd been too focused on learning about Quidditch. It seemed that here in America it was Quodpot that was the much more popular sport, and Harry just couldn't accept that. After all in Quodpot there was no snitch, and therefore no seeker. He said as much to Phil who only gave Harry a small amused smile at Harry's indignation over America's preference for Quodpot.

They concluded their outing by Phil getting them both an ice cream cone. Harry tried protesting but Phil ignored him and did it anyway. They sat in comfortable silence outside the small shop, people watching. They were talking about Hogwarts, and Harry's friends and professors. Harry wasn't sure how but they somehow got on the topic of Voldemort. Before Harry knew it he was telling Phil all about what had happened with the Philosopher's Stone and Voldemort. Phil looked very surprised by the revelation of Voldemort being alive. He questioned Harry on everything he knew looking intense, and Harry complied trying to remember as much as he could about what had happened. He figured Phil wanted to look into the whole Voldemort matter, and Harry wanted to help him as much as possible.

By the time that Phil was through asking questions it was getting late, and they decided to call it a day. It had ended up being a very good day for Harry despite the way it had started out. It had been very enjoyable to get to see a whole new part of the wizarding world and learn more about the wizarding world. He also liked that not one person recognized him or made a fuss about him being there.

Phil did try one last time before leaving to get Harry to go back to the tower.

"Are you sure Harry? Tony must be very worried about you by now," said Phil earnestly.

"No, I really don't want to and please don't call him. I don't want him to know where I am." Harry was secretly worried that even if he did know he wouldn't even want to come and get Harry, and that would be even more devastating to him.

"I can't just let him worry about where you are all night," replied Phil, in that calm rational tone of his.

"He deserves it after everything," Harry said his anger flaring up to protect his more vulnerable emotions.

Phil took a deep breath, and held Harry's gaze for a few moments. He seemed to be searching for some sort of clue as to what the right decision was in this situation.

"All right, but just for tonight. We'll call Tony first thing in the morning. I suppose it won't hurt him to sweat things out for just one night. It might even help him learn a lesson," Phil murmured.

Harry just grinned, happy to put off the inevitable confrontation with Tony a little longer.

Phil and Harry both left the alley via the Pizza Palace. The same dark car they arrived in was waiting for them out front, and they climbed back in. They drove to yet another part of the city, and stopped in front of an old antique store. It surprised Harry when they went inside. He hadn't thought a secret government building would be in an old rundown antique shop. But he should have known by now due to his experience with the wizarding world that appearances could be deceiving. The shop owner asked Phil about the weather, and Phil said something about forgetting an umbrella. The shopkeeper went to the self behind the counter and pulled out a book. The whole shelf to Harry's left suddenly cracked open and revealed a long metal corridor.

"Muggles are brilliant," Harry gasped in surprise as Phil led him through.

"They are aren't they? And they get more and more amazing every year." Phil commented nonchalantly. "Are you hungry, Harry? We can stop by the cafeteria before we go and find you a room for the night."

"Okay," Harry agreed easily.

He led Harry through the hallway, only occasionally passing someone. They all seemed to know Phil, and would give him a short respectful nod sometimes calling him Agent Coulson. They eventually came to a small cafeteria with round tables, and a buffet style assembly line with a bunch of different food. There were only a couple of other people in the cafeteria. One table held two young women, and an older balding gentleman. They wore lab coats, and were talking animatedly amongst themselves. The other table held a muscular man with short dark blonde hair who was shoveling food in his mouth at an alarming rate. He wore a strange skintight shirt with no sleeves, and had a bow settled across the table in front of him. They all looked up when Harry, and Phil entered. They looked surprised to see Harry, and were looking him over closely. The man with the bow's stare was the most penetrating, and made Harry shift uncomfortably under the weight of his gaze.

"This is Harry, he's going to be spending the night here tonight," Phil introduced to the people in the cafeteria. Harry gave them all a quick smile while edging closer to Phil.

"Harry this is Clint Barton he's an agent who works for SHIELD," Phil pointed to the man with the bow. The man gave a brief nod before he went back to eating, having obviously written Harry off as being unimportant. "This young lady right here is Dr. Jane Foster recently relocated from New Mexico."

"New Mexico? Where Thor was?" Harry asked in excitement.

"You know about Thor?" asked the thinner woman with the lighter brown hair. Jane Foster was her name according to Phil.

"Yeah Phil told me all about it," Harry said eagerly.

"Phil?" Clint Barton said, lifting an eyebrow and smirking at Phil.

"That's his name," Harry said in confusion.

"Right of course, silly me," replied Clint still smirking.

"Uh hmm," Phil said drawing their attention back to him. Harry flushed at having interrupted him.

"Anyway the other young lady is Darcy Lewis." The dark haired woman gave a little wave. "And that leaves Dr. Erik Selvig. They are all associates of SHIELD's and have just started working with us after the events I told you about in New Mexico." The older balding man smiled at him and nodded.

"Very nice to meet you all," Harry greeted timidly.

Just then Phil's phone rang. He answered with a curt, "Coulson."

He listened for a moment his face perfectly blank despite the shouting Harry could hear coming from the mobile phone before turning to Clint. "Can you stay and watch Harry for a minute. I need to go have a chat with the Director."

"Do I look like a babysitter?" asked Clint frowning.

"Do I look like a baby?" Harry inquired snappishly. He'd had a long day and was suddenly feeling bold despite his unfamiliar surroundings.

Clint's lips quirked in a smile.

"We can keep an eye on him Agent Coulson until you get back," Dr. Selvig offered.

"Thank you, I'll be right back Harry, feel free to get whatever you want to eat okay?" Phil said.

Harry nodded and Phil disappeared out the door in a flash.

"Come on over Harry and grab a tray. Take as much as you want, there's plenty to go around," Dr. Selvig pointing towards the assembly line, which consisted of several different meal options.

Harry did as he suggested, grabbing a tray for himself and perusing the different food options that the cafeteria provided. He ended up getting a little of everything, and Dr. Selvig grabbed silverware and a drink for him. Harry then settled down at the table with the two doctors and Darcy. Clint had stopped shoveling his food down as quickly as he had before, and kept casting curious, probing looks at Harry.

"Your accent is the most adorable thing I've ever heard. You're also a little cutie pie. You'll definitely get all kinds of lady action when you're older," said Darcy winking at him. Dr. Foster slapped her arm and glared at her. But she didn't seem at all phased by it.

"So Harry what are you doing here?" Dr. Selvig asked Harry gently.

"I got in a fight with my father and ran away," Harry murmured flushing, and feeling guilty and impossibly young.

"And SHIELD stepped in? You must be important. I didn't think they got involved in arguments between kids and their parents. Unless they're going to try turning you into some sort of super spy," Darcy joked.

"Well Phil said that he'd been assigned to watching my father so when I left he had to follow me," Harry shrugged feeling awkward and not really wanting to talk about it with these strangers. But he didn't quite know how to politely change the topic.

"I thought Coulson was assigned to watching Tony Stark," Clint mused aloud.

"He is, Tony's my father," Harry explained focusing on eating his food.

He looked back up when the silence had stretched for a long time.

"You're Tony Stark's kid?" Clint asked staring at Harry with wide eyes.

"Yeah," replied Harry wondering if he shouldn't have admitted that. But they worked for SHIELD so they had to keep it a secret right? Besides Clint probably would have figured it out anyway if he knew Phil was watching over Tony.

"No wonder you're such a little cutie. Stark is hot!" said Darcy.

"Darcy," Dr. Foster hissed but she too was looking Harry over closely.

"So you and your father got into a fight?" Dr. Selvig asked gently not all concerned by his revelation, and Harry found himself liking the man.

"Yeah, it was stupid. But he made me so mad," Harry murmured.

"Oh you're not the only one kid. I've heard Stark has that affect on people," Clint murmured. "God I can't believe Stark reproduced. Wait until I tell Nat. She's gonna flip."

"Well I'm sure you and your father will make up. It's what families do. They annoy each other and make each other angry. But in the end they always make up because there is no closer bond than family whether that bond is created through blood or love, it doesn't matter," Dr. Selvig said.

"I guess," Harry said. He didn't have enough experience to know what families were really like.

"Take Thor for example, his brother tried to have him roasted by this badass robot thing but he still seemed pretty set on helping him out afterwards," Darcy commented earning herself a glare from both doctors for swearing in Harry's presence.

"You were there when Thor fought the Destroyer?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Yeah," said Dr. Foster looking a little upset.

"That's so cool. I wish I had seen it," Harry said dreamily.

"It was cool, but it was sort of scary too because for a moment I—we, I mean, weren't sure if Thor was going to make it," said Dr. Foster and for a moment her eyes were wide with remembered fear.

Dr. Selvig told Harry the rest of what happened in more intricate detail than Phil had. Harry was particularly interested in hearing more about the Destroyer since it seemed to be a robot that had been created by gods. The idea was fascinating to Harry and he wished he had gotten to see it so he knew what it was made out of.

"I made my own robot," Harry informed them proudly. Even if he was mad at Tony he still treasured Tank, and had brought it with him despite the limited space in his bag.

"Really?" Dr. Selvig asked looking impressed.

"Yeah do you want to see? I brought it with me," Harry said already moving to pull Tank from his bag.

He set Tank on the ground, and then made it transform from a car into its robot form. He had it move around, and perform different stunts enjoying the praise he received over Tank.

"So the rumor is true. Stark really does have a kid," came a female voice.

Harry looked up to see a beautiful woman with short, dark red hair wearing a tight black jumpsuit. There was something about her that put Harry on edge. Despite her superficial similarities to his mum, which should have put him at ease his instincts were telling him that this woman could be a danger to him if she chose. He didn't think she would attack him but she had the potential to if she really wanted to.

"Harry this is Natasha, she works for SHIELD as well," Dr. Selvig introduced. Harry could tell that Darcy and the two doctors were also a little weary of this woman. Harry figured she must be some sort of super spy. Or maybe even an assassin. He couldn't believe that he might actually be in the presence of a real life assassin.

"Nice to meet you," Harry murmured.

"Agent Coulson asked me to come and show you to your room. It's almost nine now and you should be getting to bed. He can't do it himself since he's been called away at the moment," she explained in a no nonsense manner.

"Okay," Harry mumbled tucking Tank back into his bag and pulling it back onto his shoulders. He said his goodbyes to the doctors, Darcy, and Clint then followed Natasha from the cafeteria.

Natasha was silent as she led him through the corridors and Harry kept peeking up at her in fear and curiosity. He was far too shy to attempt to ask more about her, and she didn't seem inclined to depart any information about herself to Harry. When they finally arrived at the room Harry would be staying in she told him that there was an attached bathroom inside, and showed him to use the intercom if he needed anything. Other than that he was to stay inside the room until someone came to get him the next morning.

"It'll get better," she said to him before turning to leave.

"What will get better?" Harry asked in confusion.

She just gave him a brief smile, and left the room.

Still pondering over what she meant he got ready for bed. He was exhausted by the day he had had, and just wanted to sleep. He dreaded the morning when he would have to call Tony and let him know where he was.

His peaceful dreams were interrupted by yells and shouts, and the sound of some sort of explosion. Harry sat up, suddenly afraid that SHIELD was being attacked or something. He went to his bag to grab his wand just in case he needed to defend himself. The thuds and shouts were getting closer and closer to his room. He was suddenly terrified that whatever was causing all this commotion was coming after him. But he stood tall and firm, and tried to prepare himself so that in the event that whatever had broken in was coming after him he would be ready for it. However he couldn't have prepared himself for what greeted him when the door suddenly burst open. Harry was confronted with the surprising sight of the bright red and gold of the Iron Man suit. The faceplate slid upwards, and revealed Tony's anxious and relieved expression.

He took two long strides across the room to reach Harry, and before Harry could even protest he had swept him up into a tight, fierce hug.

"Oh thank god," he murmured pressing his face into Harry's unruly mop of bed-tasseled hair.

Harry was too shocked by his sudden appearance to do anything but stand there and let Tony hold him.

"Don't ever do that to me again. Okay Harry? I don't think my heart could handle it. I don't think I've ever been so worried," Tony pulled back so that Harry could look up into his face. Tony looked terrified and relieved, and were those tears in the man's eyes? No it had to be a trick of the light. But when one tear escaped Harry knew that they were in fact real.

Harry could only nod in the face of this startling revelation that Tony did in fact care enough about him to storm SHIELD, and to shed a tear in relief of his being okay.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I'm sorry for everything. I was just trying to help, and I know I went about it the wrong way because I'm an impatient idiot. But please just give me another chance and I promise I won't ever mess up as badly as I did. I can't promise that I won't ever mess up because well, I'm me and making messes out of things is what I do. But I swear to you it won't ever be like that. I won't ever mislead you like that again. I want you in my life, Harry. You're my son, and I care about you. I don't care if you still hate me, you deserve to after what happened. But I just want the chance to make things up to you for being such a horrible father."

Harry felt tears start to form in his own eyes. No one had ever said anything like that to him before and he really didn't know what to make of it or how to respond.

"Really?" he gasped, he honestly couldn't even find it within himself to be angry anymore.

"More than anything, kid," Tony said earnestly. "I was ready to tear down the entire building, and start World War III for you. I know I messed up, in a colossal way with you but I want to fix it. I really want to. I just want a chance to prove to you that I'm good enough to be your father."

At that pronouncement Harry burst into tears at his words, and threw himself at Tony not even caring about the how uncomfortable the press of the metal suit was. Harry clutched him tightly afraid that he would change his mind and leave him. Any resentment he felt towards Tony momentarily flew out the window in the face of knowing that he was wanted, and Tony still cared about him.

"Its okay, Harry. I'm here, and I promise I won't ever just give up like that again. I know better now and more than anything I want to be your father," Tony murmured against his hair. "I can't promise I won't ever make you mad or hate me but I've been told that's sort of how things happen in parent-child relationships."

Harry snorted in amusement his emotions all over the place.

"So do you forgive me?" Tony asked hesitantly.

"Only if you admit that you were wrong for tricking me about the Dursleys," Harry said stubbornly.

Tony gave him a grim smile. "I was completely wrong for lying to you, and tricking you into telling me about them. But I don't regret finding out. What they did to you was wrong and horrible, and I am going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you for not being there for you."

Harry stared at him for a long time weighing his honesty. He knew he was being sincere, and Harry wanted nothing more than to believe him and just go back to the way things were. But he would be a bit more cautious with Tony now. He'd try to withhold his feelings, and not get too attached too quickly like he had before. They still had so many things to work on in their relationship, and Harry figured a good first step was to be honest with one another and for Harry to forgive Tony. They would take things slowly and really get to know one another.

"I forgive you," Harry said honestly.

"Thank you, Harry. And I'm so sorry. I was wrong. You should probably have recorded that because no one would ever believe that I was capable of uttering those words aloud and in that order," Tony chuckled.

Harry smiled and unable to stop himself he once more threw himself into Tony's arms. The man laughed, and hugged him tightly back ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Hey, this might be a bad time but didn't you mention something about you being a wizard?"

Harry's stomach sank. This was going to be a long day.

**So Harry and Tony have partially made up and we've finally had some more Avengers action. Just two more chapters then the events of the Avengers will actually take place! Just a quick note Phil and Fury didn't know Harry was Harry Potter because one the Ministry of Magic doesn't know he's not with his relatives yet so they would have no reason to assume Tony's Harry is the Harry Potter. Also Fury just found out about Harry about twenty minutes before Harry makes his escape which means Phil has known about him for an even smaller amount of time. There just hasn't been enough time for SHIELD to do an indepth search on Harry before he decides to run away. **

**The reason for SHIELD not knowing about Voldemort is that first of all they didn't know about magic when he was defeated so they couldn't investigate it. Also SHIELD has an agreement with the American wizarding government not the Ministry of Magic so SHIELD would have no way to look into Voldemort any further. They would have more pressing matters happening currently to look too closely into someone who everyone believed was already defeated. The only person who didn't really believe Voldemort wasn't really dead was Dumbledore and he didn't exactly share this information with anyone. Also Horizont Alley is a play on horizontally since Diagon Alley is sort of a play on diagonally, corny yes but I thought it would be a good parallel. Anyway sorry for the long note. In the next chapter Tony finally learns about magic!**

** As always thanks to anyone who reviewed, favorited or followed :)**


	7. Magic or Madness?

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Harry Potter. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 7: Magic or Madness?**

Tony was fairly certain that he had never been as emotionally comprised as he was in that moment. His whole life he had worked hard to suppress his emotions, and show the world a perpetually snarky, uncaring front. He'd forced himself not to care because if he didn't care than he couldn't get hurt. He'd cared about his parents, and they in turn had neglected him. Then they had died while he'd still been young, and any hope that one-day they would come to love him was lost. It had shattered him, made him emotionally withdraw from the world at large. He turned towards a world of fast women, and copious amounts of alcohol to forget. He participated in dangerous stunts, and gambled with large amounts of money with little care just for the thrill. Very few people managed to break through his hard exterior, and got to see the real person beyond the armor that he had incased his heart in. Obi had been one of the few he had trusted and cared about, and he went and betrayed that trust in the most horrible way imaginable. It had crushed him. Then when he thought he had been dying he'd gone off on a huge destructive rampage. Only Rhodey and Pepper had been there to pull him out of it.

The point of the matter was that Tony just had a really hard time letting people in especially after everything that had happened in his life in the past few years. When he had found out about Harry he knew logically that he was his son, and that he was supposed to feel some sort of attachment to him and he did. In the three weeks he'd spent with him he'd found himself liking having Harry around. But he'd hardened himself against feeling anything more towards him. He didn't want Harry taking a place in his heart. It would only cause him that much more pain in the long run when he screwed up. He knew it was a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy because by believing that he was going to be a bad father he had ended up becoming one. It was only when he'd discovered that Harry was missing the morning after their fight that he realized just how much he really did care, and that if didn't start acting appropriately he would lose Harry. And that was something he really didn't want. That meant he couldn't just drink himself into a stupor every time they hit a rough patch.

He was just relieved that he had found him, and that he was now safely ensconced in his arms. He was pretty sure that he never wanted to let the kid go again. The best part was that Harry had forgiven him. He still had a look of caution in his eyes in regards to Tony but it was much more than he had been expecting. He was sure that Harry would never even speak to him again let alone willingly hug him. It was just more proof that Tony didn't deserve to have a kid as awesome as Harry was. He had a heart of gold, something he certainly hadn't inherited from Tony. He was pretty sure that he could hold on to a grudge well beyond Judgment Day.

It was while he was holding Harry that he noticed Harry was holding something strange. It was a thin polished stick of some sort. It sparked a memory of Harry shouting at him that he was a wand-waving wizard. "Hey, this might be a bad time but didn't you mention something about you being a wizard?"

Harry pulled back from the embrace and looked up at him with wide, nervous emerald green eyes.

"Yeah," he murmured.

"Are you still claiming that you are one?" Tony asked cautiously.

"Yes," Harry snapped glaring at Tony.

"Okay, okay. I'll try to reserve judgment. But you have to admit it is a pretty outlandish claim to make, right?" Tony really didn't know what to do about the fact that Harry still firmly believed himself to be a wizard. He was surprised that Harry was still holding on to this belief even while he had calmed down enough to have a more rational conversation. Was there something wrong with Harry? Who put those outlandish thoughts in his head?

"Yeah, I was really shocked when I found out," Harry admitted.

"We'll talk more about this later. Let's just go home," Tony said wrapping his arm securely around Harry.

"We should talk to Phil before we leave. He said he could help me explain things to you since he knows about the wizarding world," Harry said fiddling with his stick, wand, whatever.

"Phil? Who's Phil?" Tony asked in confusion.

"He's an agent who works for SHIELD, and he found me in the park yesterday. He said it was his job to watch out for me, and we talked for a while. He's a squib so he knows all about the magical world. He took me to a wizard shopping alley, and let me sleep here for the night because I didn't want to go back to the tower," Harry informed him.

"I'm glad you had someone looking out for you. But I really wished you would have called to let me know you were all right," Tony murmured.

"I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have run away like that," Harry said softly.

"Hey it's okay, I understand. I would have preferred that you hadn't run away but I understand. We both made some mistakes, and now we're moving forward."

He couldn't exactly be that harsh with Harry about not calling after all he was the one who had gotten completely wasted, and passed out while his son had been off gallivanting around New York City with a SHIELD agent. It did give him pause though; that Harry said a SHIELD agent knew about this so-called magical world of Harry's and had even taken him some wizard place. He'd figured out that he was in a SHIELD base after the second hole he blasted in the wall. He would never tell them but he was grateful to the spy organization for watching over Harry. But why would they have entertained Harry's delusion that magic was real? Unless… Unless what Harry had said was true. No, he couldn't accept that.

"Stark!" came an all too familiar voice, jolting Tony from his thoughts. "What in the hell do you think you're doing smashing your way into a secure government facility?

Fury swept into the small bedroom which Harry and Tony currently occupied. Tony figured it must have been where Harry spent the night. Following closely behind the irate Director was the ever calm and collected Agent Coulson.

"I thought you could use some new sky lights in here, Director. It's awfully gloomy. But I guess that's just the way that you like it," Tony replied smiling. He was feeling so much better now that he had Harry safely in his sights once more even if Harry was still claiming to be a wizard.

"You are paying for the repairs, Stark," Fury growled.

"Duly noted," Tony agreed sharply.

"So now that we're all here I think there are a few things about Harry that you need to be informed of. I think it would be best if we all sit down and have a comfortable discussion to get everything out on the table," said Agent Coulson.

"My place would be better," Tony immediately butted in.

He had a feeling he knew what sort of talk Agent Coulson was getting at, and he really didn't want to think about it. Harry had said that a Phil who worked for SHIELD would explain to him about his belief in being a wizard. This meant that SHIELD knew something about what Harry had been referring to as magic, which meant that there was a large possibility that Harry had been telling the truth. He needed time to come to terms with the fact that magic just might exist in some form. Although, he figured he would need a couple of years before he could even contemplate the existence of magic or that his son might be wizard, not just the fifteen minutes it would take to fly back to the tower.

"All right, you can head on back to the tower, and the three of us will meet you there for our discussion," said Agent Coulson amicably.

"Can I fly with you?" asked Harry sending Tony big, puppy dog eyes that made Tony melt a little. It wasn't fair that he could use his own pout against him.

Before their fight the kid had been begging for a chance to fly with Tony. So far he'd been too busy to give Harry what he wanted.

"I don't know if it would exactly be safe. Also are you sure you won't freak out?" Tony asked doubtfully.

"No, I love to fly. I've flown lots of times," Harry replied.

"You've flown lots of times… On what a flying broom stick?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"Yes," Harry said looking dead serious.

Tony just stared at him blankly. He looked over at Fury and Coulson to see if they were buying this.

"Quidditch is a very popular game to European wizards. It's played on flying broomsticks. It involves seven players on each team: a seeker, a keeper, three chasers and two beaters. There are four balls used: a golden snitch, two bludgers and a quaffle. Harry is a seeker on his school team," Agent Coulson piped up looking far too pleased with himself with his casual and infuriating explanation.

That statement had all sorts of questions rattling through Tony's mind but he stopped himself from asking them. He needed some time to think, and gather his wits if he was actually going to get through this conversation with Agent Coulson and Fury. It appeared that SHIELD was backing up Harry's belief that he was a wizard, and that this wizard stuff wasn't just some isolated thing but some sort of secretive community that was all over the world. Tony didn't like it, but it did sort of fit in with the gaps in information about Lily and Harry. He needed more information but for once he was almost too terrified about getting it. This could very well shake his belief in the world around him.

"Right, of course, I knew that," Tony muttered. "Okay, Mini Me, let's head back to the tower. Pepper is probably yanking her hair out with worry by now, and I definitely don't want to end up dating a bald chick. We'll meet the Men In Black over here back at the tower, and have our little heart to heart about you being Merlin then, okay?"

Harry nodded looking excited about getting to fly with him. He grabbed his getaway bag, and then ran into the attached bathroom to change into a new set of clothes.

"You better get your act together, Stark," Fury commanded harshly as soon as Harry had disappeared into the bathroom.

"I don't need you telling me what to do, Fury," Tony hissed back.

"Apparently you do, considering the mess you've made of things with your kid. Coulson found him on a park bench in Central Park by himself, and due to the fact that he's at least half as stubborn as you are he refused to go home. I don't know what happened between the two of you but the kid was devastated by your actions," Fury replied.

"Yeah, yeah I know, okay? Go ahead and gloat. Say I told you so or that I'm an unfit parent, whatever. I don't care what you think of me. As long as my son forgives me, I can deal with whatever opinion you might have of me, Director," Tony said stiffly.

Fury gazed at him with dark, penetrating eyes. "Don't screw up again," he gave Tony one curt nod before sweeping out of the room.

"We'll see you at Stark Tower within a half hour to explain things, Mr. Stark. Try to keep an open mind, Harry really needs you to accept him for who and what he is," Agent Coulson told him firmly yet gently before he turned to follow Fury from the room.

Harry emerged from the attached bathroom wearing a pair of jeans, and an AC/DC T-shirt that Tony had picked out for him. Tony couldn't help but grin at the picture he made since he had the exact same T-shirt, and it made Harry look literally like a miniature version of him. It was a very stark (pun intended) reminder that he was, in fact, his son. The warm fuzzy feeling in his chest unnerved him but he'd already made the decision that he wasn't going to let his fear of his emotions ruin his attempts on building a better relationship with his son. If that meant keeping an open mind that all this hocus-pocus might be real then he would do it.

"All set?" Tony asked.

"Yup," Harry chirped swinging his backpack up onto his shoulders.

"Hold on tight to your bag if you drop it at the height we're going to be flying you could really give someone a decent whack on the head," Tony told him.

Harry's eyes widened in shock. "Don't worry about it. I'm just kidding. But it's actually, probably the truth, so be careful."

Harry relaxed a bit but his grip on the straps of his backpack tightened.

"How did you know where I was?" Harry asked.

They had started walking back through the base. Tony was aiming towards the area where he first blasted a hole through the wall. When he had first arrived in the more dilapidated part of the city he thought for sure he would find Harry dead with some junkie trying to sell parts of Harry's robot for money or drugs. He hadn't even entertained the possibility that SHIELD might have him. But it seemed like it would be a lot like Fury to be keeping a close eye on Tony after finding out about Harry. It was also a lot like the Director to take Harry, and then let him sweat it out for a while thinking he was missing to teach him some sort of lesson. He hated to admit it but boy had he learned it.

"There's a tracking device in Tank," Tony replied honestly.

"What?" Harry gasped.

"It was for your own safety. I told you I had a lot of bad guys are after me. This was sort of a last resort in the event that I ever needed to find you I would have some way to track you down," Tony explained.

"Oh," he replied, quietly.

"And I'm glad I did it. It was the only way that I would have found you if you really had been in trouble or lost or something."

"I am sorry for running away like that. I shouldn't have done it," Harry told him.

"Hey, I can't really blame you since I did the exact same thing. Must be a genetic trait."

Harry's lips quirked into a smile, which made Tony grin in response.

They walked the rest of the way in a somewhat companionable silence.

When they got to the huge hole in the ceiling that Tony had inadvertently created in his single-minded pursuit of finding Harry, Harry gaped at the destruction in awe.

"I told you I was worried. I was ready to come kick the butt of anyone who had messed with my kid," Tony told him seriously.

Harry flushed but there was an obvious note of happiness in his eyes at Tony's statement.

"Okay I'm going to carry you bridal style. You loop your arms around my neck and hold on as tightly as you can, okay?"

Harry nodded looking determined. Tony scooped him up, and gently but securely held him against his chest. Harry looped his arms around his neck and clung to him like an urchin. Tony had Jarvis gently activate the thrusters, and they were air born in a matter of minutes. Harry yelped in surprise as they took off but the grin on his face as they rose above the city showed that he was anything but scared. Tony kept the speed ten times slower than what he normally would. One because Harry wasn't in a suit and wasn't protected by the wind resistance, and two Tony really didn't want to risk dropping Harry by going too fast.

Tony was once again reminded that Harry was definitely his son. His sharp green eyes flashed over the city below him without an ounce of fear, and more than once he tried to get Tony to go faster or do some sort of aerial maneuver. He did concede to speeding up a little bit but there was no way in hell that he was going to do a barrel roll while carrying Harry in his arms.

They flew around the city a bit, instead of taking the direct route to the tower. Tony was in no hurry to get back to have that conversation with SHIELD, and Harry was really enjoying the flight. In this moment between Harry and he everything was peaceful. Once their feet touched the ground they would once more be faced with all the problems they had between them, and it would be impossible for Tony to avoid whatever the truth Harry and SHIELD were planning to force on him.

He touched down on the landing pad outside Stark Tower, and set Harry down so he could run inside ahead of him so the suit could be removed. Harry's owl had somehow known that he had returned to the tower, and was waiting inside for him with Pepper. He watched as an anxious Pepper swept Harry up into her arms in a tight embrace.

"Oh thank god you're safe. Don't you ever do that to me again Harry James Stark," said Pepper squeezing the poor kid so tightly he wasn't sure if he could breathe properly.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Pepper, I promise that I won't ever runaway like that again." Harry looked much more repentant with Pepper. Of course she was the only one that was innocent in all this.

"You better not, young man. I know Tony is an idiot but you could have called me, okay? You can always call me Harry no matter what. Besides running away doesn't solve anything," she said sending a sharp look in Tony's direction.

Appropriately chastised Tony let his head drop in shame. Harry wore a similar expression of remorse.

"I know and I'm really sorry for everything," murmured Harry letting Pepper stroke his hair, which showed just how repentant he was since he wasn't someone who often allowed prolonged physical contact with people.

"Good. Here, let's get you something to eat, I bet you're hungry. Did you even eat yesterday? Where were you?" Pepper asked already ushering him over to the kitchen, falling naturally into mother hen mode.

"I was with Phil most of the day. He works for SHIELD," Harry explained and then at Pepper's insistence he told her everything that had happened yesterday.

Tony listened in to the conversation without being too intrusive trying to make himself invisible. He was worried Harry wouldn't be as forthcoming with him around since he wasn't exactly Harry's favorite person at the moment. Harry did hesitate for a moment about telling Pepper about magic, and when he did Pepper sent him a sharp shocked glance to which Tony could only shrug.

"I don't know anymore than you, which is why the Director and his loyal sidekick Agent are going to be stopping by any minute to give us a crash course in what being a… wizard actually means," he hesitated on the word wizard it made him feel strange to admit such a thing out loud. It felt like he was conceding that this crazy story might actually be true.

Admitting to the existence of magic felt like such a cop out, and Fury and Agent Coulson better come prepared to give a damn good presentation because he was ready to analyze the hell out of whatever they threw at him. He really couldn't just blithely accept the existence of magic. It was going to take something very impressive and extensive to get him to believe that this was actually a real thing.

"You don't mind do you? About my being a wizard and having magic right, Tony?" Harry asked timidly.

"No, of course not," Tony assured him. Of course at this point he wasn't exactly convinced of its existence so it was easy to placate him.

"The Dursleys didn't," Harry murmured softly.

That one statement made Tony still and suddenly everything clicked. If this wizard thing was real then it would make sense as to why the Dursleys hated Harry, and why the aunt hated Lily. Harry and Lily would have possessed abilities that they didn't, and it probably frightened them. Abilities beyond the norm didn't frighten Tony, in fact they excited him. If it could be proven that this was real then he would embrace it, and do whatever he could to learn more about it to help Harry. He would do whatever he could to make him feel comfortable with himself, and whatever abilities he had.

"I think we've already established that the Dursleys were idiots and any opinion that they may have had is entirely wrong," Tony said offhandedly.

It seemed to do the trick because Harry's tense shoulders relaxed fractionally.

"Sir, Director Fury and Agent Coulson are in the elevator, and are on their way up," Jarvis suddenly chimed.

"All right let's do this," Tony murmured making his way over to the couch.

Pepper followed with Harry reluctantly trailing behind. The three of them sat in tense silence as they waited for the elevator doors to open, and for Fury and Agent Coulson to make their appearance. When they finally did Pepper greeted them warmly.

"Nick, Phil so glad you could join us," Pepper smiled and waved them towards some chairs opposite the couch where the three of them were sitting together.

"Phil? Wait he's the Phil from yesterday? And here I could of sworn his name was Agent," Tony piped up.

Pepper sent him a withering glare that he interrupted to mean 'not now, this is a serious discussion you idiot, and I want to get to the bottom of it'. Tony wanted to get to the bottom of it as well but he was nervous, and the way he dealt with nerves was to be snarky.

"Contrary to popular opinion, yes I do in fact have a first name," replied Agent Coulson genially as he sat down. He shot Harry a warm, genuine smile, which Harry returned with a large one of his own. Tony felt a twinge of jealousy stir inside him. He remembered when Harry had graced him with a similar one. He wondered if Harry would ever decide to give him one again.

"Let's not beat around the bush we all know why we're here, since I'm assuming, despite the fact that he shouldn't have, that Harry told you about his being a wizard, Miss Potts?" Fury questioned leveling his one eye on Pepper.

"He did. But only because I asked him," Pepper said defending Harry since he looked rather nervous when Fury mentioned he shouldn't have told Pepper.

"It's fine, since you are technically one of Harry's guardians, and in a steady relationship with his father there are no problems with you being informed about the wizarding world, Miss Potts," Agent Coulson replied evenly.

"So you're really going to try and convince me that this is a real thing? Wizards and magic?" Tony couldn't help but butt in skeptically.

"Would we be here if it wasn't?" the Director replied sarcastically.

"Could be some sort of elaborate hoax," Tony muttered.

"Trust me, Stark, I have much better things that I could be doing with my time then playing pranks on you. It would be satisfying but a waste of time," said Fury.

"True and you know I would get you back ten times worse," Tony pointed out.

"Tony, you're getting us off track. Maybe you should start from the beginning, Phil. You mentioned a wizarding world, what does that mean exactly? Are they actually from another world?" Pepper questioned, ever the voice of Tony's reason.

"The wizarding world isn't a separate place exactly. It exists alongside our own and occupies the same space. However, they are hiding in plain sight from normal every day people that wizards refer to as muggles. Wizards and witches have been around for as long as humans have existed or at least as far as we can tell. They have the ability to control a force of energy beyond the realm of normal human capabilities, which can do a wide range of extraordinary things. They tend to live longer lives, well into their hundreds or in rare cases two hundreds—"

"Nicholas Flamel lived to be over six hundred but that was because of the Philosopher's Stone," Harry cut in.

"Philosopher's Stone?" Tony asked blankly.

"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, Harry," Agent Coulson said gently, giving him a small smile.

"Oops, right, sorry," Harry said bashfully.

"It's all right. Now where was I… Wizards and witches are essentially the same as humans expect of course for the... well for lack of a better term except for the magic that they wield. We believe that is what keeps them living longer than the average human. But we don't know a lot about their genetic make up besides the fact that magic is a trait that is passed down through bloodlines. However there are the occasional hiccups. For example it is possible, though rare, for two magical parents to have a non-magical child, and that person is called a squib. I myself am a squib, which is why I know so much about the magical world because I grew up in it. But I have also spent a lot of time in the muggle world."

Straight-laced, ordinary looking Agent Coulson was claiming to have grown up in the wizarding world? Well this day certainly couldn't get any stranger for Tony.

"There is also the opposite of a squib which is someone who is normally called a muggleborn. This means they have two non-magical parents but they are born a witch or a wizard. Like Harry's mother was. It is our belief, though we don't have any definite proof, that muggleborns are actually the descendants of squibs and muggles, and for whatever reason magic decides to pop back up in the family line at random intervals. But there hasn't been a whole lot of study into the matter. It has only been within the last few years that SHIELD has known about the magical world. Before that only top government officials were allowed in on the secret. The wizarding world is a very private one, and prefer to keep their abilities to themselves and distanced from the muggle world especially after all the persecution they faced in the past."

"Right Salem Witch Trials and all that," muttered Tony.

"Unfortunately that was mostly muggles who were executed. But it did leave wizards and witches throughout the world with the strong desire to hide themselves from human eyes. There is a wizarding society in all of the inhabited areas of the world. They use spells made up of specific words and wands movements to control their magic. Their spells make it possible them to hide themselves from prying eyes, and they have been hiding themselves ever since the days in which they were persecuted for their abilities. Compared to the muggle population the wizarding one is somewhat small. They use wands made from various types of woods and magical cores to help focus and control the use of their magic. They can do anything from changing the shape of an object, to making things float or controlling fire or water, and so much more. There are very few limits to what they can achieve, and there are strict laws of magic that witches and wizards must follow. For example a wizard cannot make food out of thin air. They can, however, summon it or multiply it if it already exists."

"Makes sense you can't make something out of nothing. It would be completely impossible," said Tony feeling somewhat mollified that there were actual laws to this magic thing. If there were laws, then it followed some sort of logical pattern which meant it probably wasn't as illogical as the coined termed magic made it out to be.

"Exactly. There are also a wealth of magical creatures out there that wizards protect and hide from human eyes," Phil commented.

"Magical creatures? What like fairies and unicorns?" Tony asked skeptically. A genetic ability to manipulate energy was one thing but unicorns were another matter entirely.

"There really are unicorns, I've seen a unicorn, well a dead one. And my friend Ron, his older brother Charlie works on a dragon reserve in Romania. We sent a baby dragon there that the gamekeeper had hatched. I also road on a centaur's back once, and I saw a three head dog," Harry suddenly cut in.

Tony stared at him not even knowing what to do with that sort of information. "You seem to have lived a fairly interesting life so far."

"A three headed dog? That sounds dangerous," Pepper worried.

"Oh it was fine, Fluffy went right to sleep after listening to some music," Harry assured quickly.

Pepper looked appeased but Agent Coulson's eyes had narrowed with suspicion. Whatever he knew about three headed dogs seemed to suggest that it probably wouldn't have been as simple as Harry made it out to be. Tony filed that information away for another day.

"Okay so magical creatures are supposedly real. Keep going," Tony commanded.

"Electrical energy or any type of new technological have adverse effects when brought into contact with powerful concentrations of magical energy," Coulson explained.

"Which is why everything in the penthouse exploded yesterday?" Tony asked, well besides his arc reactor. There was an area of study that he could look into once he was ready because he had to admit the more he heard the more he was inclined to believe.

"Yes, Harry's display of accidental magic caused the disruption. Because Harry is still young his magical core is still a bit unstable so any time he is experiencing heightened states of emotion his magic will lash out, as he gets older his control over his magic will become stronger and these bursts of accidental magic won't happen as often. When a child has a case of accidental magical parents are normally the ones to clear things up but in the cases of muggleborn children Aurors, the magical police force and Obliviators wizards and witches who wipe the minds of non magical people who witness magic step in to hide the problem," Coulson explained.

"Whoa wait a minute are you telling me wizards can just go around erasing people's minds without anyone knowing?" Tony demanded.

"Only with just cause. Using magic against or even in front of a muggle is forbidden unless there is a very good reason. Even then you still have to have a trial, and if your reason isn't good enough you can be given a fine or even a few months in prison," replied Coulson calmly.

Tony thought about that for a while. It didn't quite sit well with him but there wasn't much he could do about it at the moment.

"So the wizarding world sounds fairly organized if they have police and laws pertaining to who can and can't know about their world," Pepper commented.

"Yes, the wizarding world isn't that different when it comes to their governments. Each individual society is controlled by their own government much like muggle countries are ruled by their own governments. There are basic laws that all wizard governments adhere for example the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy. This is the law that states only elected officials, blood relations or close guardians can know about the wizarding world. There is an International Magical Office of Law that oversees the entire wizarding world to make sure that all witches and wizards adhere to these laws. And finally there is an International Confederation of Wizards. It's sort of like NATO in which most wizarding societies take part in it to discuss the issues and problems within their own societies."

"Problems? What sorts of problems could a magical world have?" Pepper asked.

"Well, just like in the non-magical world the magical one has its fair share of evil villains looking to take power and change the world to suit their ideal image. And because of their magic things can often get pretty messy. There was just recently a particularly nasty war in Britain just as early as a decade ago amongst light and dark wizards. Before that another wizard help start World War II," Phil explained.

"War? Harry didn't you say something about your mom and James fighting a dark wizard?" Tony asked frowning.

"Yes, you see the wizarding world just like the non-magical world is prone to prejudices. It just so happens that there are some wizards who hate anything and anyone non-magical. Those who can trace their magical blood back several generations call themselves purebloods. While some of them have no problems with the magical world there are others who are elitists, and despise the fact that muggleborns are allowed to be a part of wizarding culture. They have a severe hatred for anyone non-magical and don't believe that they are worthy of magic. Several years ago a dark wizard who called himself Voldemort started up a war to take over wizarding Britain so that he could push this pureblood agenda. He wanted to kill off all muggleborns, and succeeded in causing a lot of panic and fear with his attacks and murders against muggleborns. It became so terrible that people were even afraid to speak his name," Phil explained.

"So what did people call him? That evil scary wizard guy?" asked Tony.

"You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Harry said.

"Really? You're pulling my leg right? You-Know-Who?" Both Harry and Coulson's faces were completely serious. "Wow! Talk about unoriginal."

"They were terrified of this man, Mr. Stark, and they had very good reason to be. He was an extremely powerful and intelligent wizard. Who also happened to be a mass murdering psychopath bent on total world domination," Coulson stated.

"Okay if he was so amazing what happened to him?" Tony continued.

"Harry did," replied Coulson.

Tony snorted. "And here I was just starting to think this magic thing might be true."

"Voldemort attacked the home of James and Lily Potter on Halloween night 2001. The story goes that he killed James first and then proceeded to the nursery where he killed Lily who sacrificed herself for her son. Voldemort then cast the most terrible of the three outlawed, Unforgiveable curses, Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse. Nothing can stop it or block it and if it hits you then you die, instantly. Harry is the first and only known person to survive it. If the list of events are to be believed," Phil said.

"It's why I have this scar. It's from where the curse hit me and then rebounded on Voldemort. Headmaster Dumbledore said my mum's sacrifice gave me a special kind of protection, and that's what saved my life," Harry said pointing to the lightening bolt on his forehead.

"Right… Before I get too wrapped up in this whole Voldemort and spell of death thing, I'm still not even convinced magic is real," said Tony because if he did believe that meant accepting that Lily had been murdered by some evil wizard who had attempted to then murder his son only for him to somehow survive a magical spell used specifically to kill people, which no one was supposed to survive.

"Harry why don't you show Mr. Stark a couple of the spells you've learned," Agent Coulson said smiling warmly at Harry.

"But I'm not allowed to do magic outside of school," replied Harry frowning.

"I've gotten you a free pass for today so that you could show Mr. Stark what you can do," said Coulson.

Harry's eyes widen with surprise, and then with a grin he ran to his bag and returned with the same polished stick he'd seen earlier.

"Can I see that?" Tony asked holding out his hand for the stick.

Harry handed it over with obvious pride. "It's my wand. It's made from holly and has a phoenix feather core."

"Of course it's a phoenix feather core," Tony muttered as he turned the stick over in his hand looking it over closely for any sort of hidden software. He scanned it closely but the only information that he got back was that it was an ordinary piece of wood with a strange type of energy emitting from it. He handed it back to Harry.

"All right this is one of the first charms we learned in Charms," said Harry looking a little nervous to have all eyes on him. "_Wingardium Leviosa_." Harry swished and flicked his wand in a certain pattern and before Tony's eyes the book on the table lifted into the air.

Pepper gasped but Tony quickly waved his hand around the book to check for strings or anything else that might have caused the book to suddenly lift into the air.

"Jarvis, are you recording this?" Tony asked.

"Yes, sir," replied the AI. Tony was pleased that everything was back online in the penthouse living room so that he would have an accurate record of just what Harry was doing.

After he'd made the book float he then looked across the room and with another wave of his wand he said "_Accio_ Tank."

His robot came flying across the room and landed in his arms.

"_Lumos_," he declared and instantly a light appeared at the end of the wand. With a whispered "_Nox_," the light went out. He went through a range of various other spells that Tony observed closely to check for the slightest chance that this was all a hoax.

After the display Tony was that much closer to believing in magic. But it still took over an hour for him to grill Agent Coulson a bit more thoroughly on all the details of the wizarding world and on this Voldemort guy. When they were approaching two hours in to the discussion, and Harry had performed all of the spells he knew at least twice at Tony's insistence, Tony was starting to believe that this magic stuff might actually be a real thing. Oh he didn't think it was actual magic, but he was convinced that there was an entire race of people out there capable of manipulating this incredible energy force, and he accepted the fact that Harry was one of them. It also helped when Agent Coulson told him about Thor and the incident in New Mexico. He'd read something about it briefly while hacking SHIELD but there hadn't been much on it since it had happened fairly recently. Learning about more instances of the bizarre things out in the world only helped him to assimilate that there was more out there than what he could see with his own two eyes, and numerous spy satellites.

"We'll leave you with several books that go into much more detail about the history, and what sorts of things you can expect when raising a wizard. If you'd like to talk further or you want to get in touch with the wizarding world you know how to contact us. We would love to have someone like you to look into the relationship between magic and technology. So far anyone we've had working on the subject hasn't been able to make any breakthroughs," Coulson offered as he and Fury got ready to leave.

Tony followed them to the elevator.

"Between you and me how much of a threat is this Voldemort guy? You mentioned that he was still alive or some sort of evil ghost thing," Tony asked them in a hushed whisper, not wanting Harry and Pepper to overhear.

"We don't know. We just became aware that he wasn't completely destroyed. We need to look into the situation more closely," Coulson said calmly.

"If we can get past those stiff British wizards," Fury snapped.

"I'm guessing they're not exactly friendly," Tony commented.

"They just aren't the most open to interference in their affairs by non-magical people," replied Coulson.

"Keep me updated," was all Tony replied.

"We will, and for god sakes Stark try and keep us updated on any breakthroughs you make," Fury snapped before disappearing into the elevator.

"Will do," he assured them.

He planned on looking into it but there was no way that he was going to help out SHIELD with anything. He would do this for himself and for Harry.

"How are you taking everything?" Harry asked him once SHIELD had left.

"Surprisingly well," replied Tony even though he really, really wasn't. Dragons, unicorns and pixies were real. His son knew how to ride a flying broom, and there was entire population of people out there that he had previously known nothing about. Tony hated not knowing things.

"Well it is a lot to take in. I was really shocked when I found out. But magic is great. Are you sure you're all right with everything? With me being a wizard?" Harry asked.

"Of course, Harry, we care about you no matter what," Pepper assured him with a huge smile but Tony could tell that this revelation was a lot for her to take in as well. It didn't change her feelings towards Harry but finding out that fairytale creatures actually existed was sort of like getting hit in the chest with a two by four.

"Yeah kiddo everything is completely fine. Just like Pepper said it doesn't matter to me if you're a wizard to me you're still my kid. But you do know I'm going to be bugging you nonstop until you tell me every little detail that you know about magic right? Can't believe I just said magic. We should make a new name for it. I'm Tony Stark, I'm Iron Man, the builder of technology for the future. I can't just go around saying magic. It just sounds too… wrong. Hmm let's think, what could we call it?"

"Let's just stick to what Harry knows okay, Tony?" Pepper said exasperatedly.

Tony pouted he really didn't want to refer to something as magic even though what Harry was able to produce was quite impressive. He'd been having Jarvis take notes on the level of energy waves that Harry had been producing while performing his wand waving spells, and he was planning on going over the data later.

"Do you want see my broom, Tony? Phil said I could show you guys and even fly around on it as long as I didn't go outside," Harry said obviously eager to show off.

"Do I want see a flying broom? Um yeah," said Tony grinning.

Harry grinned back and raced back to his bag. He pulled out something that looked like a toothpick with bristles but after tapping it twice it quadrupled in size into the sleekest looking broom Tony had ever seen. He didn't even think that it could be used as an actual broom since the bristles were so tightly packed. It did make him wonder just why witches and wizards had decided it was a good idea to make brooms, of all things, fly.

Harry flew a few laps around the ceiling of the penthouse. He performed a few daring stunts that had Pepper nervously wringing her hands, he had Tony nervous too not that he would ever admit it. After he was done, and had once more settled back on the ground Tony couldn't help but ask him more about his school. Harry launched into a delightful description about Hogwarts, and it's four houses, professors, students, ghosts, moving staircases, and the many adventures he had gone on. Tony wasn't quite sure what to make of some of the things Harry told him.

Some of his adventures seemed a little extreme. Was it normal for an eleven year to fight off a mountain troll in the wizarding world? And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that this Voldemort person seemed to still be alive albeit a really angry ghostly spirit thing. Tony needed more information. Harry seemed to really love Hogwarts and all the people he had met there but Tony was really hesitant about letting him go back after hearing all the stories especially knowing that the evil maniac who had originally tried to kill him was still around. And he really didn't like the idea of sending his kid off to some boarding school so soon after he had met him. But again Harry was excited at the prospect of going back, and Tony was hesitant to make him angry by flat out denying him the chance to return. He would need to have a serious talk with these professors of Harry's to make sure he was really safe. Tony wasn't going to let himself be a failure this time.

He needed to learn more about these wizards. He had some solid connections with the American wizards through SHIELD, not that he particularly wanted to owe SHIELD anything. He still had the option to gather more information through them. The British wizards were another matter entirely, and they were the ones he needed the information from. His son was a British wizard. Lily had been a British wizard, and they were the ones he would have to deal with if Harry really wanted to go back to school there. It was just so strange thinking that his son was a wizard, and he wasn't just any wizard either, he was famous amongst them. He was hailed as some sort of hero for defeating some evil bastard when he was a baby, and that evil maniac and his minions could potentially still be out there searching for ways to get to his son. Without the chance to learn more about the British wizards Tony figured it was time he hunkered down and figure out the limitations of magic. He was going to do whatever was necessary to insure his son was protected, and building him a range of different gadgets to protect him from magic seemed like a very good place to start.

**So just one more chapter to go until the Avengers. The chapter has already been written but still needs to be edited quite a bit. Chapter 9 has also been written but again needs to be edited. I have basic outlines for chapters 10-15 and a fairly solid idea of where I want to take this story and how it will conclude I just need to find the time to actually write the story since I'll be going back to school in a week. **

**As always thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows!**


	8. The Timely Demise of the Dursleys

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Avengers. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 8: The Timely Demise of the Dursleys**

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Tony had found out about the magical world, and he had been studying up on it ever since. He had pestered Harry about everything that he knew, and demanded that they go to the wizard 'shopping mall' that Phil had taken Harry to. It had been a great deal of fun for Harry to show Tony around the wizarding world. He'd answered all of Tony's questions that he was able to as Tony closely observed the wizards as they went about their normal, day to day lives. Harry knew that he desperately wanted to do a more in depth study of magic but the only magical person he had access to was Harry, and according to wizarding law underage wizards weren't allowed to do magic outside of school without a special permit. Tony was trying to get Phil to get special permission for Harry. He dangled the possibility of working with SHIELD to get technology to work with magic in front of their eyes as an incentive.

Tony seemed pretty sure that he was capable of achieving it. But Tony lamented the fact that he only had a limited amount of data to work with. He'd tried to get more while they had been at Horizont Alley but unfortunately all of his recording devices stopped working the moment they stepped onto the street. His arc reactor continued to work in the presence of strong magical energy so he had figured that whatever link he discovered between magic and technology would come from arc reactor technology, something he had been looking into anyway.

Harry was just relieved that Tony seemed to have taken the whole magic thing in stride. Sure he'd been skeptical for a few days even after the long discussion and the numerous books he'd read on the subject. His path towards acceptance was also helped along a great deal by him watching the clips of Thor's little trip to New Mexico. Knowing that the Norse Gods of myth existed in some form went a long way towards him accepting that there was more to the world than he had initially believed.

But it wasn't until they had actually gone to Horizont Alley that Harry believed everything had really sunk in for Tony since it allowed him to see the magical world with his own two eyes. Pepper was also taking everything very well. She'd said something to the effect that she'd seen Tony do so many weird things that nothing could really surprise her anymore. She had loved the Alley too, and getting to see all of the wonders of the magical world. Harry wished they could all take a trip to Diagon Alley together since that was really the first place Harry had been introduced into the wizarding world, and that was the world that he was more familiar with; although, he found the American wizarding world just as exciting.

Tony and Pepper enjoyed themselves at the alley. They bought a bunch of candies, and Tony of course bought a bunch of joke stuff from the local joke shop much to Pepper's annoyance. Tony was a little insulted during their trip since only a few people recognized him. Harry could tell he was used to people clamoring for his attention everywhere he went, and was a little put out by the fact that he didn't receive the same reaction from wizards. Harry, however, thoroughly enjoyed himself. The chance to spend a normal day with Pepper and Tony without worrying about paparazzi, both muggle and magical was a dream come true to Harry. It was like being a part of a normal, everyday family even though Tony could probably never really be classified as normal. He liked the fact that shop owners automatically assumed Tony and Pepper were his parents. He also enjoyed having Pepper and Tony's full attention focused on him. It reminded him a great deal of their first shopping trip together, and it did a lot towards healing the relationship between Harry and Tony.

In the week following their trip they had managed to form a closer relationship. They were still a bit cautious with one another but they were a lot more honest and open with one another. Since they were being honest with one another Tony admitted to Harry that he was in fact punishing the Dursleys for their treatment of Harry. Harry had been stunned by that revelation. He had always dreamed of getting back at them, and the fact that Tony cared enough to want to punish the Dursleys for him was incredible to Harry. He had never been so grateful towards Tony. The two of them had giggled over the videos of the pranks that Tony had played on the Dursleys. Tony continued to assure him that what the Dursleys had done to him was cruel and was meant to hurt him, and it was only right that they were punished for it. However it was still a surprise when Tony announced he was going to send the Dursleys to prison.

"So kiddo, I was just informed by my associates in jolly ol' England that the Dursleys have reached their breaking point. I'm going to take the jet, and fly over to give them an ultimatum. They either turn themselves in to the police or allow me to continue tormenting them," said Tony grinning wolfishly.

"You're going to send them to prison?" Harry had always known that what the Dursleys had done to him was wrong, he had just never thought that what they had done was worthy of actual jail time.

"Yup, that's where they deserve to be. They shouldn't be out, and about living happy lives after the things they've done. It isn't legal for people to leave kids locked in cupboards or make them work like slaves," said Tony pointedly.

"I guess," Harry shrugged.

"There's no guess work about it. It's the truth, kid. What they did was wrong and they should pay for it," Tony said firmly. "I'm just telling you because I wanted to know if you wanted to come with."

Harry was surprised by the offer.

"I don't know if it's something that a normal person would offer, letting their kid watch their recently discovered father send their idiot relatives to jail. But I think that it's something you deserve to see, if you want to that is. I just wanted to give you the choice," Tony said looking awkward but sincere.

"I'll go," said Harry before he could talk himself out of it.

He thought Tony was right. It would be good to reaffirm to himself that all these years the Dursleys had been wrong about him. To know for certain that what they had done was truly wrong, and that they deserved to pay for what they had done to him by seeing them arrested for their crimes.

Tony just nodded in agreement. A short time later the two of them were packed up on Tony's private jet and on their way to England. It was a much better plane ride experience than Harry's first trip with the Dursleys. Tony's plane was just as large as a commercial plane but had comfy lounge chairs instead of seats, and the flight attendants offered them any type of gourmet food or drinks that they could possibly want. Pepper remained behind because someone had to run Stark Industries.

Harry and Tony played a game of wizard's chess with the board Tony had bought in Horizont Alley to pass the time. He had been enthralled with the way the pieces could move on their own, and had closely studied the board and the energy it emitted. The two of them had more fun destroying each other's pieces rather than playing an actual game. The rest of the time Tony looked over his notes and data on his tablet while Harry slept.

They arrived in England on a private runway not too far from Little Whinging with little fuss or attention from the paparazzi that constantly followed Tony around. Tony had rented a car, and he personally drove them to Privet Drive. Harry wished that he had Hedwig with him but she had remained behind in New York. As it was Tony was able to catch on to his nervousness about the upcoming confrontation.

"You don't have to go in with me, Harry. You can wait in the car," Tony offered.

"No, I want to see them," Harry insisted. He was a Gryffindor, it was time that he faced his fears. Confronting his relatives had always been one of his biggest fears and it was time that he did it. There was no better time than now with his father at his side, willing to support him no matter what he chose.

"Okay. Just so you know I plan on yelling and shouting at them a lot. I also want to give you the chance to get out anything you want to say to them. So feel free to say whatever you want. This is your chance to just get all of this off your chest, and move on. But at any time you feel uncomfortable or anytime that you want to leave you just let me know and we'll get out of there quicker than I can hack SHIELD."

Harry just nodded his agreement, relaxing a bit to have Tony's firm support.

As the familiar, identical houses of Privet Drive came into view Harry couldn't help but tense up a bit once more. There were just too many bad memories in the little suburb for Harry to ever feel truly comfortable here. When asked which one was the right house Harry directed him to Number 4. The car was gone and according to the people Tony had working for him the Dursleys had stepped out for dinner since they had caused their oven to explode the night before. They were expected to be back any moment. Harry wasn't at all surprised when Tony opened the door with the key, and swept inside so that the two of them could wait for the Dursleys to return.

Inside, the house was complete chaos. It looked nothing like the way it had when Harry had last seen it. The house had once been perfectly immaculate, in large part due to Harry's efforts. But right now it looked as if a bomb made up of garbage had gone off inside the house. The furniture in the living room was ripped and torn. Picture frames and vases were broken, and no one had bothered to sweep them up, which was very unlike Harry's aunt. There was a steady stream of water dripping down the stairs from the second floor causing large water stains to form. When Harry peeked into the kitchen he was shocked to find that it was in even worse shape than the rest of the house. The cupboard doors all seemed to be cracked or crooked while the sink dripped a gross brown sludge. Plates and old food were piled along the counters in a disarray, and half of the appliances seemed to be broken in one way or another.

Tony whistled looking impressed at the destruction around them. "Wow I have to hand it to those guys, they really knew what they were doing. Definitely money well spent."

Harry only nodded still stunned as Tony led the way back into the living room to wait for the Dursleys. Harry could only imagine the type of life that the Dursleys had been living for the house to have fallen into such a state of chaos. They were always so image conscious. Things must have been absolutely terrible for them to have let the house get this bad, and risk the notice of the neighbors. He'd watched some of the videos of some of the funnier events like the clogged toilet incident, and the fire alarms turning on at all hours of the night but he hadn't really noticed the truly poor state of the house. It made him surprisingly cheerful to know how much the Dursleys must suffered over the last month and a half.

Tony and he had just settled down on to the non-destroyed part of the couch when the Dursleys arrived home. Tony looked perfectly at ease in his surroundings, his arms flung carelessly along the back of the sofa. Harry fiddled with the zipper on his jacket. He couldn't help but be a little afraid about the confrontation that was about to happen. Tony had brought his special suitcase that allowed him to put on the Iron Man suit in a moments notice, just in case. He had told Harry he didn't think he would need it but it was always a good idea to be prepared. Harry had a surprising epiphany as he sat on the couch in the Dursleys living room. He felt safe with Tony. With his arm resting along the back of where he sat, and his body pressed closely to his own Harry felt safer than he had in a really long time. For once in his life he had an adult that was sticking up for him, and was willing to do something for him. He was challenging the Dursleys, and telling them that they were wrong for what they had done to him. Harry had never believed he would ever see something like this happen. With the feeling of safety firmly fixed in his mind he watched as the Dursleys stumbled in to the house.

They all looked exhausted. Their clothes were untidy, and Dudley and Vernon even looked like they had lost a bit of weight. Petunia's face was even more pinched than it normally was, and Vernon's face was already looking a bit reddish with annoyance. When they saw Harry and Tony sitting on their couch they looked too stunned to form words.

Tony sent them a wolfish grin as he stood, and straightened his impeccable and expensive suit. "Hi, Tony Stark. It's so nice to finally get the chance to meet my son's _loving_ relatives. Have you liked the visitors I've sent by to personally thank you for all you've done for him?"

"All of this is because of _you_?" gasped Vernon shaking with rage and his face was rapidly changing to its normal unhealthy purple hue.

"And here I thought you wouldn't mind a few more presents from me, Dursley. After all you were very eager to take my money," said Tony sounding deceivingly jovial.

"You can't do this! I'll have you arrested for this!" Vernon shrieked.

"Oh that's not going to happen but you're more than welcome to call the police. In fact you might as well since I'll be calling them myself in few minutes," said Tony.

"What reason would you have to call the police on us?" Petunia demanded.

"Are you both really this stupid?" Tony asked derisively.

"How dare you?" Petunia questioned shrilly.

"I dare because of what you did to my son," snarled Tony, any pretense of cheerfulness disappearing.

"What we did? What has the little liar been telling you?" Vernon said taking a threatening step towards Harry.

It was the wrong move. Tony's features darkened even further and Harry was almost certain that he was about to put on the suit so he could crush Vernon into the stained carpet. Tony blocked the path between Vernon and Harry looking murderous.

"Don't you _ever_ call my son a liar again. You've been lying to people about him his entire life. You don't deserve to judge him you pathetic excuse for a man," Tony hissed and Harry felt a moment of amazement to see Vernon cower underneath the brunt of Tony's anger.

"You don't understand. He's a freak, he—"

Vernon didn't get a chance to finish because Tony had punched him square across the face. Petunia cried out in shock. Dudley was in the corner watching with terror filled eyes as his father went down. Harry could only watch in utter amazement and admiration of what Tony had just done.

"What did I say about insulting my son?" Tony demanded glaring at Vernon from his position on the floor. "I know all about Harry being a wizard and you know what? I don't care. I'm a man of science, someone who would be the last person in the universe to believe in magic. But I've accepted that my son is a wizard. You people disgust me with the way that you could hate an innocent child just because he was born with something that you weren't willing to understand or learn about."

"It's not our fault! We never wanted him," Petunia snapped back, although she was trembling a fair bit, afraid to turn Tony's wrath towards her.

"Then you should have sent him to a home that did!" cried Tony.

"That man said if we took him in, he would provide us with protection from the people who killed my sister," replied Petunia.

"So you kept him around for your own safety but you refused to even treat him decently despite this protection he provided all of you with?" Tony scoffed glaring in disgust at Petunia. "Just what was this protection and who was the one who gave you custody of Harry?"

"The headmaster at that freak school, Albus Dumbledore. He said there would be some sort of protective barrier built from my sister giving up her life for the boy's. He said it could only be built through Dudley and I since we were my sister's last living blood relatives," Petunia explained.

The wards were not knew information to Harry since Dumbledore had explained it to him at the end of the year when he had asked to remain at Hogwarts over the summer. But it did come as a shock that they were the only reason that the Dursleys had taken him in. Harry didn't think anything they did could hurt him now but knowing that they had never truly cared for him even for a moment was upsetting. Petunia didn't even seem to care about his mum or at least she was really good at hiding it.

"Right, well I'll be having a chat with him later. Right now we're talking about you and the consequences of your actions. I'm going to give you and the walrus a choice. You can turn yourselves over to the police, and admit to what you've done… Or I can continue with my little presents until there's nothing left and you have no other options but to go through with my plans. Either way it will end with you doing some jail time. One choice just means you'll being doing a bit less time and save yourself some misery."

"This isn't legal. You can't do this," Petunia hissed.

"I can and I will. There isn't anything that you can do to stop me," said Tony once more regaining his casual air.

"We'll go to the media. Tell the world about what you're doing to us," said Petunia.

"You signed a contract. If you so much as take one step in that direction you'll be thrown in jail faster than you can say Iron Man," said Tony.

Both Vernon and Petunia looked terrified as they realized they were trapped.

"What about my Diddykins?" Petunia gasped helplessly, looking tearfully over at Dudley who was still in the corner gaping like a fish.

"You should have thought of that when you kept my son locked in a cupboard under the stairs while spoiling your own son," replied Tony not at all sympathetic.

"You cruel bastard. You've ruined my house, my credit, and my bank account. I got fired because of you. You've ruined my life even after everything we had to put up with, with your miserable spawn. I won't let you get away with this," Vernon snarled, struggling to get to his feet.

"I already have, Dursley. You should be glad I'm giving you a choice especially with the way you keep slandering my son," Tony said darkly.

"I will do whatever I want, and you can't make me," Vernon howled sounding a great deal like Dudley having a temper tantrum. But even in anger it was obvious that he didn't dare attack Tony after Tony had proven that he was capable of physically standing up to him.

"Oh you'd be surprised what I could make you do, Dursley," Tony hissed, making Vernon take a fearful step back.

"Vernon, I think he's serious. Think of Dudley and what he could do to him. We can't fight him with all the influence and money he has," Petunia cried.

Vernon practically vibrated with rage but it seemed, even with his limited intelligence, that he knew he had been beaten.

"Fine, call the police," snarled Vernon.

"Do you even recognize that what you've done to Harry was wrong?" Tony asked in amazement.

Petunia's head dipped a little bit in shame but Vernon looked entirely unrepentant. "We did nothing to him but provide him with a home, and clothes despite all of the troubles he caused us."

"Right because a cupboard is a real home, and the rags you gave him were real clothes. This is why I don't feel an ounce of guilt in doing all of this to you Dursley because you honestly think what you were doing was okay. You deserve everything you're about to get," snapped Tony in disgust.

Tony whipped out his phone and called the police.

"One more thing. Is there anything you'd like to say to them, Harry?" Tony questioned turning concerned eyes towards Harry.

Harry gathered his courage and stepped beside Tony facing Vernon and Petunia. Tony put a comforting hand on his shoulder and Harry couldn't help but feel an extra surge of confidence at the touch.

"All I ever wanted was for you to like me. I never understood why you didn't until I found out about magic. I hate you for the way you treated me and the way you made me feel growing up. But now I feel sorry for you, too. Aunt Petunia you're bitter and jealous of my mum, and you took that out on me. Uncle Vernon you just hate anyone that is different, and you're too small minded to learn more about wizards before you pass judgment on them. Thanks to Tony and Pepper, I know that I'm not a freak, and what you did to me was wrong. I'm going to move past what you did to me, and I'm going to live a happy and productive life. But you are going to have to live the rest of your lives in guilt and misery because of what you did to me. Dudley I hope that you can learn from this and not turn out like your parents because there is still time for you to change."

Once Harry finished he stared at all the Dursleys. Dudley just gaped at him like he'd never seen him before. Petunia actually did look a bit regretful while Vernon just looked angry and resentful. But he was too intimidated by Tony to try anything with Harry.

"Oh and I want my mum's journal," Harry added as an after thought.

"You heard the kid," Tony added.

Petunia glared at them but she disappeared upstairs and returned with the journal. She shoved it into Harry's hands, and he couldn't quite believe that he would finally have some answers on why his mum had done what she did. The police and child services arrived soon after. Tony took charge and got things moving fairly quickly as he explained the situation to them, and the Dursleys confessed or Petunia did while Vernon just muttered angrily under his breath. The Dursleys were arrested. Tony had a whole team of people watching over the proceedings closely to make sure the Dursleys continued cooperating. They would make sure they were actually charged, and put in prison. Harry also had to give his statement. Since the Dursleys were pleading guilty he wouldn't have to attend a trial, and his formal accusation and statement would be enough for the court. Once that was through Tony took Harry out to dinner, and then the two of them got back on the plane to head home

As soon as they were back on the plane Tony asked if he could scan Lily's journal quickly. He said he didn't want to intrude too much he just wanted to make sure it was all age appropriate. He seemed satisfied with what he found, and handed the journal back over. Harry was thrilled and terrified to finally get the chance to learn about his mum's thoughts. Unable to wait a moment longer he flipped open the diary and began to read.

Lily's Journal

_I've begun this journal as a way to deal with the tumult of my emotions after my mum and dad's unexpected deaths. It was Death Eaters. To the muggle world it has been written off as some sort of explosion but of course I know the truth. They were murdered. This war is getting worse by the day, and despite what everyone thinks I'm terrified. I hate Voldemort and all of his Death Eaters for their racial slurs and their cloistered ideals, and I want to stop them. But the violence and fervor with which they fight scares me. They are so convinced that what they are doing is right. _

_Things were so different before graduating from Hogwarts. When the Headmaster approached me to join his Order of the Phoenix I had been all too eager to join, and help out anyway that I could. But that was before I really understood the horror of war. I will do my part to protect others, and have done so by facing down dark wizards several times in several terrifying battles. I want to see the world freed from Voldemort's grasp, and I will do whatever I can to accomplish this. My parent's deaths have shaken me, though. It's made me second-guess all of my decisions. It worries me that because of this war I've rushed my decisions, that, and my fight with Petunia. _

_She accused me of being the reason for our mum and dad's deaths. She said if I had never gotten involved with the wizarding world then maybe Voldemort, and his Death Eaters would have never targeted our parents. I'm afraid that our relationship is incapable of being repaired. I don't know how it could have come to this. Petunia and I used to be so close, and I hate that she's grown to hate me for being a witch. But maybe she's right about one thing. When I found out about being a witch I did turn my back on the muggle world. I stopped being a part of the muggle world in my efforts to make myself fit in with the wizarding world. That is something I regret, and I want to fix it. I want to spend more time in the world I grew up in. The world my parent's grew up in. At the very least it will get me away from the horror and terror that suffuses the wizarding world right now. Maybe I can even convince James to join me in my reintegration to the muggle world._

* * *

_James hasn't exactly been supportive of my desire to reacquaint myself with the muggle world. He thinks that we have more important things to be focusing on and in a way he's right. But I need a distraction so I've started taking trips on my own. It feels nice to get away from the constant terror and pressure of the wizarding world's war. James distracts himself by spending time with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, and I take trips into London. I've been meeting up with old primary school friends who are attending university in London. I've really enjoyed my time on the campus, and I've gone with them to a couple of their classes. It makes me wish that I could have enrolled. It's what my parents had always dreamed of. _

_My mum and dad weren't exactly thrilled when I told them James and I were engaged. They liked James, and got along well with him but they wanted us to wait since we were both so young. I'm starting to think that maybe they were right. But at the time we were so in love. We were both each other's first serious relationship, and it was so hard to resist someone who fought so hard to get my attention. And I have to admit that James really proved himself by maturing in our seventh year. And when he proposed a few months after graduation I couldn't help but say yes. With the fear of the war and that any moment could be our last, I threw caution out the window and agreed. _

_I realize now that we may have been a bit rash. I still love James but I'm not sure that I'm **in** love with him. I feel like we rushed into things, and never really got the chance to know if what we felt was more than just a school crush. There are just so many other things I wanted to do before getting married and settling down, and I regret jumping in to things. Maybe I'm being selfish but spending more time in the muggle world, and seeing what my friends do makes me realize what I'm missing out on. Sometimes I wonder if James feels the same way when Sirius teases him about needing to ask my permission before he goes out to spend time with his fellow Marauders. I see the flash of irritation in his eyes and the way he asserts that just because we are married doesn't mean I'm his keeper. I tend to agree with him even if the harsh words hurt a bit. We went from being children to being shoved into adulthood so quickly. There's so much pressure on us. Sometimes I just want to do something crazy and unexpected, something that normal young women my age do._

* * *

_Tonight I went to some rundown muggle pub in London. I was feeling a bit down after an Order meeting where we received some bad news about some of our members. I just wanted to spend some time alone to think. More and more I've been retreating to the safety of the muggle world, and tonight was no exception. Instead of seeking J__ames's comfort I went to a pub, which I suppose goes to show the awkward state our marriage is currently in. I wasn't expecting to meet anyone there. I chose the place because of its rundown quality. I didn't want to talk to anyone and the fewer people around the better. But I didn't get my wish. I met someone._

_His name was Tony. Anthony Edward Stark to be exact. He gave me his full name when I failed to recognize him. It seems he is rather famous in the muggle world due to his wealth and genius level intelligence. He was an American, and owns a large and lucrative weapons company. He was extremely intelligent and witty, and he made my stomach twist itself into strange knots like a girl with a crush. I tried to ignore the feeling but he made it difficult. Even after I told him I was married he just shrugged it off, and said that it was fine and it wasn't illegal for us to continue chatting with one another. I couldn't help but agree with his logic. He asked me to meet him again. I should have said no. He didn't seem like he was the type of man to just want to talk with a woman. But he was just so different and interesting. I have to go back._

* * *

_I feel so guilty. I've never felt more horrible in all my life. My parents would be so ashamed if they knew what I had done. I'm ashamed of what I've done even if at the time it felt like the most amazing night of my life. Last night was Tony's last night in London and we— I… I cheated on James. I never would have thought myself capable of such a feat. Yes I've been feeling more and more trapped in my marriage with James but it was no excuse to do what I did. Tony was fun and exciting, and a wonderful distraction from the wizarding world but I can't believe that I would ever do something so wrong. What have I done? Why have I done it? I have to tell James. I have to. I just don't know how._

* * *

_I'm pregnant. I don't know how I let this happen. Well I know how, I've been careless. I haven't even worked up the courage to tell James yet about cheating and now I find out that I'm pregnant. Some Gryffindor I turned out to be. I'm a coward and an adulteress. Everything seems to be spinning out of control, and the worst part is that I have no one to blame but myself. No, what the worst part truly is, is that I don't know who the father is and that I've gotten an innocent child involved in this situation. I want to say with utter certainty that it is James's child since I was only with Tony once but considering how far along I am there is some possibility that the baby is his. I don't know what to do. The only way to know for sure is a blood potion when the baby is born. _

_I'm terrified about being a mother. I'm only nineteen, soon to be twenty, and there is a war going on. The added stress of the baby possibly not being my husband's is killing me. I only have myself to blame but it doesn't stop me from feeling anxious and horrible. I haven't even told James yet about the baby. I'll have to tell him eventually. But how can I tell him when the baby might not even be his? _

_Either way despite all the anxiety and terror I still love this baby with my entire being, and I don't want them to suffer for my mistakes._

* * *

_The last few months have been difficult. James found out I was pregnant due to the fact Molly Weasley noticed the signs while at an Order meeting. He was surprised but after a while he seemed to be happy about it. It killed me to see him that way, and I can only pray that the baby is his. I'll do the test once the baby is born, and once I know for sure I'll tell him, either way. I owe him that much. I'll just wait until then._

* * *

_I'm a mother. My beautiful baby boy was born two days ago on July 31st. Harry James Potter. He's perfect and I can only hope that he isn't the one who is going to pay for my mistakes. I hope that I can make it up to him by loving him unconditionally. James is thrilled and I've bought a paternity potion to test Harry. I only need to work up the courage to give him the test._

* * *

_Albus came by today to see Harry. He told us of a prophecy about a child who would be able to defeat Voldemort. He says that Harry could be the child of the prophecy. Or it could be Neville Longbottom. The beginning of the prophecy states that 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies'. There is more but I don't dare write it down here. Not even with all the protective wards I keep on this journal._

_The problem is that Voldemort found out about the prophecy, and he's planning on coming after the Longbottoms and us. He's going to try to kill my son. I will do whatever is necessary to protect my son. We have to go into hiding with Harry. I know now I need to perform the test. I need to know for certain. The prophecy might not really mean Harry at all if it turns out that Tony is really Harry's father. Of course the prophecy is fairly vague. The 'born to those who have thrice defied him' part could mean that he is our biological son or that he was just born to us. He could have been born to James since he was there for the birth without Harry being his natural born son. It's too much to consider. I need to know the truth._

* * *

_I've completed the test. Harry isn't James's son. I cried for hours yesterday. James thought it was because I was worried about Voldemort. I've never felt so awful in all my life. I have to tell him the truth. But I'm afraid. I'm afraid James will leave Harry and I in our moment of need. Maybe it's selfish of me but I've come to realize that a mother will do anything for her child._

_I'm not even certain telling the truth will change Voldemort's mind about coming after Harry. He could simply think that it's some sort of diversion tactic to get him to leave Harry alone. It's not as if he would ever take the time to stop and give Harry a paternity potion before killing him. And there's nothing Voldemort values more than his own life and he will do whatever is necessary to remove any possible risks to himself. I don't know what to do. But I know I have to do whatever is best for Harry even if that means keeping up a lie a little longer and risking the lives of others to keep him safe._

* * *

_I've told James the truth. It just came out. I couldn't keep up the lie anymore and allow James to continue to live a lie. He hates me, to put it mildly. He shouted at me for hours and I let him not even bothering to defend my actions. He then stormed out without a backwards glance. I can't help but wonder if I will ever see him again._

* * *

_James came back tonight. Three days after leaving. He wants to get a divorce and I've agreed. He said he would stay until this thing with Voldemort is sorted out since he agreed with me in that Voldemort might just think this is a diversion tactic. We've moved our things to separate rooms and he no longer looks or speaks directly to me. He still takes care of Harry but he is much more distant towards him and it kills me that I've brought this situation down on Harry. He doesn't deserve James's apathy for my mistakes. But at the same time I don't blame James for it was I who deceived him, and allowed him to believe that Harry was his son. I can only hope that one day both James and Harry can forgive me for what I've done. Not to mention Tony. He deserves to know that he has a son, and Harry deserves to know his real father. I have so much to make up for._

End Lily's Journal

Harry closed the journal after reading that last entry. It was written only two days before Halloween 2001. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel now. He was vaguely disappointed and yet at the same time he still loved his mum. It was confusing. He loved her for her obvious love of him but he couldn't help but feel betrayed knowing that she had lied to everyone about something so huge. Sure in the end she had come clean to James but not soon enough. He wanted to hate her because maybe if she had told the truth things could have been different for Harry. But he found himself incapable of anything more than vague resentment since she was dead. He would never get the chance to talk about any of this with her, and vent his feelings about the situation with her. All he had were some of her thoughts and feelings at the time. They were only random snippets of her life since she wrote less and less frequently as time went on. He couldn't get angry since it would do him no good to hate someone who was gone. It was far too late to change the past and Harry recognized that anything she had done wasn't his fault.

"So I was thinking about a few new adjustments to the suit," Tony said casually.

Harry looked up. There was concern in Tony's eyes but the man seemed to realize that Harry wasn't ready to talk about what he had read and was offering him a distraction. Harry smiled at him, a rush of warm feelings towards Tony flowing through him. Tony had really been there for him; today and he had to say he was feeling very grateful to having Tony in his life.

"What were you thinking?" Harry asked dutifully, and Tony quickly launched into a long-winded explanation of the new repulsors he was thinking about installing and it effectively distracted him.

Maybe his mum had made mistakes and maybe things could have been different but at the moment there was no place he would rather be than with Tony. With Tony he finally had a real home, and he would never have to go back to the Dursleys again.

* * *

While Harry and Tony were flying over the Atlantic, the Dursleys were being interrogated about their nephew. The people Tony had hired were watching over them carefully to make sure that they were completely honest in their admissions of guilt. Later on Vernon and Petunia Dursley would be convicted of child abuse, and would each be sentenced to several years in prison along with many more years of probation. They would never regain full custody of their son.

But back to the present. It was also during Harry and Tony's flight that Harry came to a very important decision. It was a combination of seeing the Dursleys pay for the injustices they showered on him, and by a renewed sense of trust in Tony. Harry had finally and conclusively decided that his home with was Tony. This caused the impenetrable blood wards surrounding Number 4 Privet Drive to crumble.

They had been weakening steadily over the last couple of weeks without Harry there to renew and strengthen them. The wards would have managed to last an entire year from Harry's last departure but there was one sure fire way to shatter them. Harry stopped thinking of Privet Drive as his home. It also helped that the Dursleys had been permanently removed from the residence, and felt such strong resentment towards him that they would never welcome him back to live with them even under the most extreme duress. Up until this point no one in the wizarding world, besides one Hermione Granger of course, knew that Harry was no longer with his relatives. With the wards shattering so suddenly, and so spectacularly it got the notice of Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock etc.

He had monitors on Privet Drive to let him know the state of the wards. If he hadn't been so busy trying to locate where the shade of Voldemort had fled to he would have realized that they had been weakening due to the fact that Harry had never arrived there at the end of the school year. But he didn't so when they did break, the alarms that rang throughout his office caused him to jump in shock. Still in shock it took him several moments to realize just what the alarms going off meant, and when he did he felt himself pale.

The wards around Privet Drive, protecting Harry Potter had fallen. Albus Dumbledore was instantly consumed with dread and fear for his student's life. He quickly called on the only two people he trusted enough with this information. He briefly explained the situation and then together the three of them apparated to Privet Drive to discover what had caused the wards to fall.

What they found was startling. The house was empty, and in shambles but it didn't look like anyone had recently broken in or attacked. Of course it was hard to tell considering the level of destruction in the house. They searched the house but found no traces of dark magic or indeed any type of magic that would suggest wizards were involved. Dumbledore closely inspected the wards for the cause of the deterioration while his two companions questioned the neighbors if they had seen anything.

All three of them were startled by what they discovered. Dumbledore discovered the wards had broken not because of a malicious attack but because Harry no longer called Privet Drive home. The question of why he no longer did was still unknown. Professors Snape and McGonagall discovered that the Dursleys had been arrested after admitting to child abuse. No one had noticed where Harry had gone since they had been too focused on all the police cars, and the angry outbursts of Vernon Dursley as he was carted away. None of them had even noticed that Harry hadn't been at Privet Drive this summer. Dumbledore went to see Arabella Figgs, a squib living in the neighborhood who had been watching over Harry since he first started living there, in hopes that she could provide him with more information on this situation.

She reported that she hadn't seen anything unusual, in fact it seemed that she hadn't even noticed that the Dursleys had been arrested. All of these things unsettled Dumbledore a great deal. The Dursleys being arrested for child abuse, Arabella's lack of knowledge, and the fact that Harry had truly not wanted to return to Privet Drive for the summer were events that worried Dumbledore. At the time Dumbledore believed that he simply did not want to return to the muggle world after experiencing the wonder of the magical one. He would have never expected anything to be wrong with the way Harry's relatives treated him. He thought maybe there was a bit of dissatisfaction with the arrangement on Harry's part but not enough to warrant Harry's removal or for the Dursleys to be arrested. What exactly had been going on? Arabella had never given him a report that would cause him to question their guardianship or look into Harry's treatment any further so he had left Harry and his relatives in peace. He was a very busy man, and sad to say he just didn't have time to check up on him that's why he had delegated the position to someone he thought that he could trust.

It seemed that this decision hadn't been the best for Harry. But Dumbledore knew he couldn't dwell on that at the moment. There was another far more important matter to look into: what had happened to Harry Potter?

**I tried to portray Lily as a normal human being, not a saint or an intentionally malicious person. She was just someone who was young and made mistakes and instead of being honest she kept the secret to protect herself and then later to protect Harry. **

**Also I want to apologize for the late update. I wanted to try and keep up my once a week update but this is my last semester of college and I'm really busy so updates might not be as frequent as they were before. The story will be written since I know where I want it to go, I just have to find the time to write it. Sorry! The next chapter is the Avengers!**

**Thanks to anyone who reviewed, favorited or followed!**


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